A Deal With The Devil
by Hotchsbabewriter
Summary: Aaron and Emily are happily married, they have a beautiful girl, and they share custody of Jack. They have perfect life, practically the perfect marriage, but what happens when Foyet returns and offers Hotch a deal. "He won't hurt his family if he leaves them". Will Hocth take the deal to protect what he love the most in life? Or will he fight Foyet putting his family at risk?
1. Chapter 1

**A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL**

Hello guys, new story. I haven't written in a while because of my heavy classwork load, but I'm starting to get restless, so I came up with this new idea and with the help of my beautiful friend, SouthunLady, we present to you our new story:

Aaron never thought he would be this happy; he had everything he ever wanted…he and Emily were happily married, and they had Jack and a four-year-old daughter named Alana. They were the perfect family: him, Emily, Jack and Alana. But, what will happen when his worst nightmare, Foyet, comes back to haunt his life and to threaten his happiness. Foyet wants to make a deal with Aaron, only this deal isn't what Aaron expected. Foyet wants to see Aaron suffer, and Foyet's deal is "he won't hurt Aaron's family if Aaron leaves them". Will Aaron take the deal and leave his family, or will he take the risk of staying and fighting Foyet if he catches him, or Foyet hurting what he loves the most in life.

Chapter 1 - A Fairy Tale:

The alarm clock buzzed about five in the morning, waking SSA Aaron Hotchner from his peaceful slumber; he groaned tiredly and reached over to the nightstand to shut the offending and loud buzzer off. His eyes remained closed, not yet wanting to leave his warm and comfortable bed, a soft and slender frame moved closer to his body, and the sleepy face of his wife nuzzled against his chest, also groaning in frustration. With his eyes closed, he pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead, and a small smile danced across his lips. The warmth of her body was a comfort, the closest thing he had to heaven on earth, and her naked frame cuddled even closer to him, leaving absolutely no room in between the couple. He smiled again, softly running a hand over the brunette's back, and then going down her ass, then moving slowly between her thighs.

"Stop…"-she murmured, with a grumpy and sleepy voice. He couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips.

He continued gently caressing her thighs, tracing patterns over her soft porcelain skin, sending electrical currents through her body. His hand moved even closer between her legs.

"Aaron stop…" -She warned again, trying really hard to fall back asleep and shutting her eyes even tighter. They had gone to bed early enough, but he had ravaged her until about one in the morning, although she really didn't have any complaints about that, and here he was again, trying to go for another round. She wondered how he worked sometimes, no matter how little he rested or slept, no matter how many hours he had worked, no matter how busy and late the kids had kept them up, he was always ready to go; she was almost sure he had a permanent erection on him 24 hours of the day. Not that she was unhappy about that, of course, she loved that her man always kept her satisfied. She was absolutely lucky that after almost six years together, he still made love to her at least one time every single night. She loved him more than anything in the world…she love his libido, but right now, more than anything, she loved her sleep. He chuckled and pressed lips against the soft skin of her neck, bathing her warm skin with kisses. Emily growled in frustration, and finally opened her eyes to meet those of her husband, she gave him a grumpy look and pouted.

"Morning, beautiful" -He murmured, capturing her lips softly.

She returned the kiss, tiredly, even though he had woken her up from her sleep, even though he had ravaged her all night long and she had only gotten four hours sleep, she couldn't be mad at him, she just couldn't. Everyone should be so lucky.

"Morning…." -She said softly, when they pulled away. He smiled deeply at her, and for an instant, she forgot that the whole world even existed. Despite her lack of sleep, she couldn't believe she was this happy and married to the man of her dreams; moments like this when she woke up in his arms, she felt like she could conquer the world. She had spent many years of her life alone and moving from one city to another, and one day she woke up and realized she was 36, single, unhappy and alone. But, that all changed when she got a job offer that anyone would believe was their dream job, so she accepted the job because something inside her told her this was it for her. Emily being Emily, she jumped in with both feet which started her on a journey that was to change her life forever.

It was difficult at first because the very stoic and emotionless Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner, was very mistrustful he didn't select Emily for the job, as she was placed in his unit by their Section Chief who was attempting to sabotage SSA Hotchner's position in her unit, and Emily's mother was an Ambassador. But as time went by, Emily was able to prove her skills, and she blended into the team seamlessly.

When Aaron's marriage failed, and Emily tried to stand beside him and encourage him and be his friend, she realized she was falling in love with him, which came as a huge shock to her. Since they were leader/subordinate, she tried very hard to keep it hidden, so that there would be no problems within the unit. Eventually, though, they became friends and it led to a relationship. She never been so happy in her life, but her fairy tale didn't end there. When Aaron proposed to her, she felt like she was in heaven. And after six years, she was here in his arms, happy and proud to be his wife, the mother of their beautiful princess, Alana, and a mother figure to Jack, who was now almost nine. This was everything she had ever wanted; she was definitely the luckiest woman on earth.

Aaron leaned forward and captured her mouth again, ignoring her earlier complaints, the time and everything else, he seduced her and made love to her again, slowly and passionately. After that, they got in the shower to start their day. The kids would be up soon, and they had to get them ready, dropped off at school, and then they both had to go work. He came out of the shower to watch Emily getting ready. She was buttoning her blouse, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her glorious body.

"_God, was he lucky. She had the most amazing and sexy body he had ever seen. Even after the birth of their first child, Alana, her figure was still breathtaking. He was the luckiest man on earth to have her, she was his saving grace. After his marriage broke down with Haley, he thought he was broken and his life was over…he never thought he would love again. But then, she came into his life, she lightened his world, she showed him how to smile again, how to live again, she brought him back to life and made him the happiest man in earth. She gave him a beautiful daughter that was the light of his eyes, and most importantly, she loved Jack as if he was her own child."_

His eyes then landed on the black tight skirt that clung to every one of her sexy curves…the skirt was above her knees only a couple of inches, but enough to show some of her long, creamy legs. He looked at her again in firm disapproval, as she turned around to meet his gaze.

"What!" -She asked curiously, closing the zipper of her skirt, confused at the sight of the slight anger forming in his eyes.

"You are going to wear that to work?" -he asked, feeling the jealousy overtake him.

"Yes…why?" -She asked again, confused.

"The skirt is too short…can you change, please…" -He shook his head firmly in disapproval; there was no way he was going to let her get out of the house in that skirt. She was his, only his…Emily smirked.

"Are you serious, Aaron?" -She asked, frustrated. She should have known better. He approached her and pulled her to him firmly by her waist.

"Change please…" -He asked again, this time more firmly. Emily could hear the seriousness in his tone, and the anger starting to build in his eyes. She saw the jealousness behind this, and she smiled, finding it endearing that she could still make him this jealous. She rolled her eyes and pulled him for a kiss.

"Fine…" -She said, walking away and going into the closet to find a pair of slacks instead. She truly wasn't mad at him, in fact, she liked this jealous and possessive side of him, it made her feel loved, sexy and wanted.

She finally came downstairs and walked in the kitchen where her husband was already finishing breakfast for the kids, and as soon as Emily walked in the kitchen, a small form immediately jumped on her leg.

"Mommy",…Alana began reaching out her arms so her mother could carry her. Emily smiled widely and bent over picking up her daughter in her arms and covering her little face with kisses. Alana was four years old and a very smart and curious girl. She had inherited Emily's raven black, soft curly hair and her ivory skin, she, however, had her dad's beautiful chocolate eyes and unmistakable dimples.

"Good morning, my sweetness," -She smiled, as her daughter immediately wrapped her little arms around her mother's neck and rested her little head on her breast. Emily knew she wasn't going to be able to put her down at all, most people say girls are usually daddy's girls and are often more attached to their father, but in Alana's case, however, it was the opposite, she was mommy's girl; she loved her dad fiercely, of course, but she was so attached to Emily it was the cutest thing ever. Emily walked further into the kitchen with her daughter still in her arms, just as Aaron handed her a cup of coffee. He had not only made breakfast, but had gotten the kids ready for school and made their lunch. He also had made breakfast for him and his wife and was now giving her a steaming cup of coffee just the way she liked it. Emily smiled widely…she couldn't be luckier.

Jack came to the kitchen too, closing the buttons of his plaid jacket. He was very tall for his age and was a very good kid. He and Alana were both in private school, one of the most exclusive ones in the area. Jack, of course, was a model student with the highest grades in the class, and he played soccer and lacrosse for the school. Emily and Aaron were both really proud of him and the way he behaved. For a nine year old Jack was the most well behaved boy Emily had ever met, and she had to attribute much of that to Haley's influence.

"Good morning, Daddy, Good morning, Emmy…" -He said, sweetly. Emily put down her cup of coffee and placed a kiss on the Jack's head, all the while smiling and running her hand over his hair playfully.

"Good Morning, baby..." -She said, sweetly. Jack immediately smiled at Alana, who was still in her mother's arms.

"Morning, Lanny," -He said, placing a kiss on her check. The little girl immediately threw her arms at the young boy, and even though he was still little, Jack smiled and took her in his arms hugging her tightly.

Emily and Aaron both smiled; they were so lucky, their kids were great, Jack adored Alana with all his heart, and he had since the day she was born. He protected her probably more than Emily and Aaron themselves. He always played with her and held her hand wherever they went, and he was simply the best big brother. Of course, Lanny worshipped her big brother Jack…she always wanted to be with him and if she was attached to Emily, her attachment to Jack was worse. She would fall asleep most of the time on Jack's bed, and she would always insist that Jack read to her before bedtime, something that he did happily.

Aaron finished his breakfast and cleaned up after everyone, then he picked up his little girl in his arms to say goodbye to her.

"Be good with mommy, ok, princess?" -Lanny nodded and kissed her dad's cheek.

"I love you, daddy", -She said sweetly.

"I love you, too, sweetheart…" -He kissed her one more time and placed her on the floor softly. Then his attention went to his wife who was now finishing her coffee. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, not ashamed that the kids were still there. He never felt ashamed, no matter where they were, he didn't mind kissing his wife senseless. When he deepened the kiss biting her lips softly, Emily giggled in his arms.

"I love you….more than life itself,' -He said, looking at her deeply.

"Promise?" -She asked sensually, looking at him deeply, too.

"Always and forever," -He confirmed, smiling and kissing her again. It was a thing between them, they didn't even know how they started it but they had, so every day they would say that to each other, it was a way to keep their love alive, and to remind each other that they were always there no matter what.

After awhile, Aaron left the house with Jack to take him to school, since Jack was already in Elementary school he started earlier; the routine was that Aaron drove him to school every week that they had Jack and then Emily would leave the house later with Alana, and she would drop her at preschool then she would head to the BAU. They still worked together, and although Emily didn't really travel as much as she used to when they first started dating, she was still a very important part of the team.

An hour later, Emily arrived at Quantico and walked into the bullpen. She placed her computer bag on her desk and quickly glanced around. Her eyes then landed on her desk, and that was when she saw it, a single red rose on her desk. She picked it up with careful hands and smiled to herself…there was no note, but she didn't need a note, she knew perfectly well whom it was from. She glanced at the office of her husband and smiled even deeper. Every week, Aaron would leave a rose on her desk, every week for the past six years he had done it. She smelled the rose and closed her eyes for a moment. She had never believed in fairy tales, but she was living in one every day of her life, and nothing or no one could change that, or so she thought…


	2. Chapter 2

**A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL**

Chapter 2: A Ghost from the Past

The team was finally back at Quantico just off a long case, and the only thing that needed to be done was paperwork which, of course, everyone hated. Not that they really preferred to be out there chasing serial killers, but sitting at their desk for hours at a time just doing reports wasn't necessarily their favorite activity either. Of course, there was also the fact that their team leader was a Drill Sargent and would ding them if the `report wasn't perfectly written and completed to his standards. The worst part was that what they considered perfectly completed, Hotch might consider poorly done, so that put even more stress on the team, but they didn't complain, after all, Aaron Hotchner was the best Unit Chief the BAU had ever had, and he had that job for a reason.

JJ was in her office submerged in the piles of cases they would have to work on in the next few weeks. If they thought their jobs were hard, JJ's was even worse. She had to choose between hundreds of cases that needed their help, and that wasn't always an easy task. Reid was retyping his report as fast as his fingers would allow him; he didn't even need to look at the report, he had memorized the contents the first time he wrote it. Morgan, too, was redoing his report, something about their last case had been really traumatizing and difficult for the team, and Hotch had ordered everyone on the team to re-do their reports, telling them that they needed to be more than perfect. That was the one of Hotch's little problems, nothing was ever perfect with Hotch. They seriously thought there would never be a day when he said their reports were finally perfectly completed the first time...except in Emily's case. Emily was probably the only profiler who had written a perfect report in the history of the BAU every single case. Her problem was when she first started in the BAU, Hotch had been a real hard ass on her, mainly to ignore how attracted he felt toward her, so he would make her redo her reports even though they were great. After they started dating, he still wanted to keep their relationship a secret, so he would continue to make Emily re-do her reports so no one would suspect anything was going on between them. However, after six years, she had been his wife, some still would think that he had softened toward her, well, that wasn't true…he was probably stricter with her now because he didn't want to make anyone feel he played favorites with his wife, since being married was technically against the rules. Although the BAU had approved their relationship, they still had to maintain a strictly professional relationship at work, which made Hotch even stricter on her than he was to the rest of the team.

Emily exhaled exasperatedly and angrily; she had done this report twice already, and she was beginning to get upset. The report was fine the first time…she knew it, she knew Hotch knew it too, but because of their stupid fraternization rules here, she was writing the report a third time. She pulled out her phone unable to stop herself and sent her husband a text.

"I can't do this anymore, please….please just take my first report…" -Emily begged her husband. A few minutes later, her phone buzzed in her hand. "I'm sorry you're upset…I'm just following the rules." -Aaron told her.

"That is bullshit, Aaron…fuck the rules! My report was excellent the first time." –Emily said.

"I have to be fair to everyone, you know that…I can't play favorites...we talked about this, Emily, everyone else is rewriting their report." –Aaron told her.

"So, you're punishing me for being a better profiler than them? And, you're doing that just because I'm your wife and they're not?" –Emily shot back.

"No, I'm making my entire team re-do their reports, and that includes you, who happens to be my wife. I'm sorry." –Aaron told her.

"This is bullshit and you know it!" -Emily angrily retorted, mainly because she was tired and ready to go home.

"I'm sorry…I'll make it up to you." -a smiling Aaron told her.

"What do you have in mind?" -Emily smirked right back at him, holding her breath.

"Well, since my mom has the kids tonight, I can take you to dinner wherever you want." -Aaron said with a small smile.

"Interesting, but still not convinced." –Emily said, letting him know that wasn't enough to get excited about.

"I'll give you a massage, and I'll do anything you want…after that." –Aaron said smiling at all the things he hoped she would want to do.

"MMMMMMMM, OK, you're on! But, it better be good!" -Emily said a little louder than she meant to.

"It will be so good, you won't be able to walk." –and with those words, Emily burst into laughter, covering her mouth, as everyone turned around to look at her.

"You are a tease! OK, deal!" –Emily agreed, when she could answer through her laughter.

"Good, now get back to work!" –Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner growled with a big smile on his face.

"Yes Sir," –Emily replied. She smiled, putting her phone away and concentrating back on her report with a big grin on her face.

She knew that was probably a good thing because they didn't really have a lot of time for themselves what with their workload and children's schedules. Of course, it wasn't like they never got time, sure they did, but most of the time it was late at night, when the kids were sleeping and the day was over, but by that time, they were both exhausted and ready to pass out. Still they managed to talk at night, every single night. Even when Aaron was away on cases, he would always still call her just to talk to her on the phone about their day. They always made love right before they fell sleep, and again sometimes in the morning when they woke up. They tried to be professional at work always, but they still sent each other cute text messages here and there; they would always find a way to lighten up each other's day. They had dinner every night as a family that Aaron wasn't away on a case, then they would check their kids' homework together and make sure they got the kids ready for bed, and finally, after all that, their time was completely devoted to each other.

Still, it wasn't enough…between the insane hours at work, two weeks, and their daily life routine, that left very little-to-no-hours for the couple to spend time alone. So once in a while, Aaron's mom would take Jack and Lanny for the night, partly because she wanted to spend time with her grandkids and partly because she wanted to give the couple a little time to themselves. Then, they could go out and enjoy dinner, or just be alone for a little while. Tonight was one of those nights, and Emily was more than happy to go out with her husband; so, at five in the afternoon, she left like she always did. She didn't have to pick up the kids because Helen, Aaron's mom, was going to pick them up, and Emily decided to go home and get ready for her date with her husband. Aaron had told her he wasn't sure what time he would be able to leave the office, but he would pick her up at home as soon as he was able to leave, and he would call her when he was ready to leave the office.

Emily went home and decided to relax, have some wine and take a long, soaking bubble bath, since it wasn't very often she had the house to herself with no kids at all. She would worry about getting ready a little later. She had already planned exactly what she was going to wear for her date with Aaron, and she had a very sexy set of lingerie she had gotten last time she went to the mall with the girls to surprise him with later, so for now she just wanted to enjoy her time alone.

Back at the office in Quantico, Aaron was reviewing his final stack of files; he couldn't wait to get out and take his wife to dinner, he just loved spending time with her alone. Of course, he loved their children more than anything in the world, and he loved every minute he spent with them, he was the happiest man in the world. But, he loved his wife so much he couldn't get enough of her, no matter how many years passed. He found her more beautiful and sexy every day, even more than the day before. He still couldn't believe how a woman like Emily Prentiss, who was now Emily Hotchner, could have paid attention to someone like him, and most importantly, agree to marry him. He was more than head over heels in love with her…she was the reason he lived every day. So, any minute that he could get her alone for himself was the best time of his life. He was also lucky his mom loved his children so much, and she was willing to take them with her a couple times a month so he and Emily could have time for themselves. And oh boy, did he love his time alone with Emily! They could be as loud as they wanted to and go for it all night, since neither of them had to be up early the next day. So right now, he was desperate to leave his office and start his romantic night with the woman that owned his heart.

He was working on his last case when his office phone rang.

"Hotchner?" -He answered.

"Good evening, Agent Hotchner, I'm Nurse Roberts, calling on behalf of Mr. Tom Shaunessy." -The woman on the other side of the line said politely. The name she said sounded familiar for a reason.

"How can I help you?" -Hotch asked politely?

"Mr. Shaunessy is on his deathbed, and he wanted to see you, if possible, before…" -She couldn't finish the words.

"I don't understand." -Hotch wasn't sure what was this related to.

"I'm not sure either, he just said you guys…" –But, Hotch finished the sentence for her…

"We worked a case together about ten years ago." –Now, he remembered the name of the case they worked on.

"You are the only person he asked to see…Please..." -She sounded desperate.

"I understand. I'll be there as soon as possible." -He ended the call after the nurse thanked him. He wasn't sure what Shaunessy could possibly want with him, it had been years since they even worked together, and to be honest, he wasn't even sure he could remember him at all. He growled a little angrily and hurried to leave his office. He was already late to pick up Emily, and this was going to delay him even more. He quickly called her to tell her what had come up, and he was going to pick her up a little bit later than he had planned to. Emily realized his voice sounded different, and she didn't object, it would actually give her more time to get pretty and sexy for him.

Hotch parked his SUV outside Shaunessy's house and rushed to the door; whatever this was better only take a few minutes…he had a beautiful woman at his house waiting for him to pick her up. He rang the bell trying to think what Shaunessy could possibly want from him. He truly didn't know Shaunessy that well, but they had worked a case together about ten years ago, one about a serial killer called the Boston Reaper, but the case was resolved, and that was the last time he heard from him, and he couldn't imagine what else Shaunessy could want to talk with him about. At that moment, the nurse opened the door smiling at him to come in.

"Mr. Hotchner?" -She asked, smiling at him?

"Yes." -He answered politely.

"Come in, please, he's been waiting." -She moved out of the way so Hotch could enter.

"Thank you." -He nodded, walking into the house.

"I'm sorry about being so insistent, but it was important. Tom will be lucky if he makes it through the night." -She said sadly.

"I understand," -Hotch said, finally walking into Shaunessy's room. The older detective was in his wheelchair, and he looked much older and devastated than the healthy detective Hotch knew him as. Hotch looked around at his room with all the walls covered in awards Shaunessy had received, and at the dozens of newspaper articles with news about the Boston Reaper case prominently displayed.

"Hello, Tom." -Hotch greeted Tom, shaking his old, wrinkled hand.

"Hi Aaron, thank you for coming." -Tom replied in a broken voice.

"Of course." -Hotch said, sympathetically.

"I just don't understand why you asked for me." –Hotch confessed.

"The Reaper Case." -Tom said, hands shaking.

"I thought that case was closed." -Aaron questioned.

"It was, technically." -Tom said, closing his eyes for a minute.

"Technically?" - Hotch questioned?

"I actually shut down the investigation without an arrest, and the killings stopped, that's why I sent you away, but he never got caught." -He finally confessed.

"What!?" -Aaron asked in shock. Tom suddenly reached into his sweater pulling out a very old piece of paper handing it to Aaron. He took the piece of paper in his hands and read:

"_If you stop hunting me, I will stop hunting them._

_For as long as we shall live, till death do us apart"_

The paper had the picture of an eye drawn with blood, and suddenly he understood what that meant.

"You made a deal with him?" -Hotch asked incredulously?

"I had no choice, we weren't at all close to catching him, and he was going to continue killing." –Shaunessy said, defending himself.

Hotch just shook his head.

"We don't get to make those decisions, Tom, we don't let them get away with it!" -He said, still unable to believe he had actually made a deal with a murderer.

'I know, and I'm sorry, but the deal is about to expire." -Tom said.

Aaron look at him, confused.

"I don't have much time left." -Tom said, referring to his illness, and Hotch remembered that the nurse had told him Tom was on his deathbed.

'You think The Reaper will start killing again?" -Hotch asked Tom?

"I know he will…that's why I called you." -Tom said, with his head down, defeated.

Aaron left Shaunessy's house with a million things going around in his head. There were so many things he could barely concentrate on his driving. How could Shaunessy have done something so selfish, how could he have made a deal with a serial killer, a devil. He remembered how the streets in Boston were when the Reaper was killing, the fear, the chaos…he knew this was about to be one of the biggest news events of the area. Hotch knew if the Reaper was truly alive, he was going to kill again and again, and it was going to be worse than the first time. One thing he was sure of, if Shaunessy did eventually die, the Reaper was going to come after Hotch, since he was one of the other main agents involved in the case during the first investigation.

When Hotch arrived home and parked his car, he was unable to think or process anything else; this one was going to become one of the biggest cases in the history of the BAU. He almost felt scared for the first time in his life. He opened the door going into his home, his mind still at Shaunessy's house.

"I thought you had forgotten about me." -Emily greeted him coming down the stairs; she had heard his car approaching and parking, and she was coming to meet him now. She walked down the stairs in a beautiful black cocktail dress, her hair nicely curled, sexy make up on and wearing sexy high heels. It hit him, then, he was so worried about the Reaper and concentrated on what had just happened at Shaunnessys's house that he had completely forgotten about his date with his wife.

I'm sorry, baby…I…I didn't…I didn't mean to be home this late." -He confessed, looking at his watch and realizing he was two hours late for the time he had told Emily he would pick her up.

Emily immediately realized something was wrong with him; he was stammering and he look worried, something was definitely wrong.

She approached him softy. Rather than being mad at him for being late, she felt extremely worried.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." -She asked, worried.

"I'm okay. I just…it's been a long day. I'm sorry for being late." -He stammered, pulling her into his arms. Suddenly, her smell filled in his nostrils, the usual smell that lightened his world no matter how hard his day had been.

"It's okay, we still have time, no kids tonight, remember?" -She winked at him and gave him a big smile. He smiled, too, remembering that before he had arrived at Shaunessy's place, he had a plan. He was going to take his beautiful wife out and enjoy a night without the kids, but something was bothering him, he felt a knot in his stomach. Suddenly Emily pulled him to her for another hug, and it hit him…if the Reaper was truly out there and wanted to hurt people it wasn't only the city of Boston that was in danger, it was him, Emily and their children. Thinking that, he felt weak, like he was going to pass out, he felt his knees were going to give out on him, his heart started to beat a thousand times a minute.

"Aaron….." -Emily called him, a little louder.

"I'm sorry, baby, what? " -He asked, trying to look and sound normal.

"I asked if you're sure you're are okay? -She asked, concern playing across her beautiful face.

"Yes…sweetie, I'm fine…. everything is fine…." -He said, grabbing her hand.

"Let's go, okay? -He said, walking toward the door to start to their dinner, only his mind was somewhere else completely, and Emily knew it, she could see it in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL**

CHAPTER 3: The Monster Returns

It had been two weeks since Aaron had gone to see Shaunessy, two weeks where he had been terrified that the Reaper would come back and kill hundreds of people. Aaron had been thinking about ways to resolve this horrible possibility without getting anyone involved, but he knew he couldn't, and at some point, the team would find out, too, because the BAU would be the first called on the scene. The truth was he didn't even know how to address this to anyone…he felt angry at Shaunessy that he had to pay for his mistakes, but, there was no way out of it, and he knew it. The only thing that was in front of him right now was time. Hotch knew it was just a matter of time before all hell would break loose because all the Reaper was waiting for was Shaunessy's death, which miraculously hadn't happened yet. He tried to act normally, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He hadn't been sleeping well lately…he was the only one that knew the Reaper was still alive, but he had promised Tom he would not tell anyone about this until Tom was officially dead, and Hotch planned on keeping his word to Tom. That was another reason why he was not getting much sleep, Aaron knew this was about to be one of the most terrifying killers breaking loose, and he could do very little about it until the Reaper actually started killing again, so, technically someone had to be dead for him to start doing his job. Now, he had no way to track the Reaper or even to start looking for him, and that was killing him inside, and worse than anything, it was affecting his life in all possible ways.

He was in his office going over the files on the Reaper case for the hundredth time in the last couple weeks. He didn't have a profile, he didn't have any way to track him down, or at least know how to look for him; how could he stop someone from killing when he didn't have any idea who that someone was. No matter how many times he reviewed the files, he couldn't get anywhere…he had a very bad migraine right now just from looking at the words on the pages so much, and he truly felt like his head was going to explode. He reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen, swallowing a couple of them, hoping they would help him feel a little better. He glanced through the window of his office to check on his team who were currently working on the case they had returned from the previous night. His eyes landed on the beautiful brunette that seemed to be deeply concentrating on paperwork, and he felt the pinch in his stomach, perhaps that was why he felt so terrible. He and Emily had gotten into a fight the night before, and she was still displeased with him; all this stress had been affecting his personal life, too. During the last case, he had lost his temper with Penelope, something he never really did, and although he felt terrible about it and had apologized to the technical analyst, that didn't stop his wife from biting his head off. Emily had noticed his odd behavior, and she kept asking what was wrong, and he kept saying he was okay; however, the night before, things had gotten out of hand. They had gotten into a fight, and she had not talked with him since. Then, what hurt him the most, he knew she had the right to be mad because he had been not been himself the last couple of weeks. Emily was a great profiler, and she had noticed all of his behaviors, so he couldn't even hide it from his wife, and that's what had lead them to fight. The problem was they never really fought…although most marriages had their ups and downs, he and Emily very seldom argued, they always talked through their disagreements until they had worked everything out. When they did have one of their rare fights, it affected both of them so much that they were miserable until they could sit down quietly and discuss what was making them so unhappy and upset. Now, his heart has aching because he had made his wife angry and that bothered him so much. He never wanted to cause her any pain, but he didn't know how to fix this, how to apologize to her.

_Flashbacks _

_They had arrived home from their case a few hours ago, and he was in his study again going over the Reaper case. He wasn't feeling very well, and he also knew Emily still wasn't very happy about him losing his temper with Garcia, but also because he had been acting really weird. Every time she tried to talk to him, he would change the subject and, of course, she was getting a little irritated about that._

"_Dinner is ready…." –She said, as she tapped on the door of his study for the third time that night._

"_I'm not really hungry…." –Aaron answered with his eyes still on the file._

"_Come on, Aaron, you've been gone all week, the kids haven't had a chance to be with you, and right now, they are waiting for their father to have dinner with them." -She said coldly._

"_I know…I'm sorry, I'm really not hungry…" -and he truly wasn't. This stress was making him lose his appetite and everything. _

_Emily closed the door of the study a little roughly and left without saying a single word to him. He knew if he didn't show up at the table, Emily was going to be furious, so he decided he had to join them for dinner._

_When he sat down at the table, Emily shot him a cold look, and he turned his attention to the kids; he would try to talk with her later when they were alone. They started dinner and Jack and Alana eventually filled the room with giggles and questions. They were overjoyed to have both their parents at home at the same time. Aaron was happy, too, the truth was, this was the only thing in the world that made him happy at the moment, his family, they were a gift from heaven, and he would do anything to protect them. That was why he was so worried and scared about the Reaper…he was scared about the people he would harm, but he was mostly scare about his wife and kids. He couldn't bear it if the Reaper came anywhere near his family, he felt a gut-wrenching knot in his stomach, and he closed his hand in a fist from anger just thinking about it._

"_Daddy…daddy." -Alana spoke louder, bringing her father back from his thoughts._

"_I'm sorry, sweetheart." -Aaron turned to look at the four year old who was trying to get his attention._

"_I was telling you about my school show, didn't you listen?" -Lanny asked, with a sad face._

"_No, baby, I'm so sorry, please tell me again." -He said, pulling her into his arms. Emily stood up from the table shaking her head angrily, and Aaron could see that she was beyond mad. He finished dinner with the kids, but Emily never returned to the table. After putting the kids and reading them their bedtime stories, Aaron came downstairs to find his wife still washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. From the Emily look on her face, he knew she was mad, and that they needed to talk._

"_Can I help you with the cleaning?" -He asked, not knowing how else to start, but she didn't respond._

"_Em...?" -He started again._

"_No thanks, go back to your office." -She responded coldly. Aaron exhaled. _

"_Look, I know you're mad, and I'm sorry…" -He started, but she turned around with her hands still wet and started going off on him._

"_What the hell is going on with you!?" -She yelled. _

"_You lost it with Garcia today, you've been acting weird for the last couple of weeks, and don't think I haven't noticed, what the hell is the matter, Aaron?" -She asked again. Aaron looked up at his fuming wife, knowing as much as he wanted to share this with her, he just couldn't._

"_I'm okay, I'm just tired, that's all." -He said. _

"_Don't give me that crap…it's not that, and you know it." -She raised her voice again._

"_You know how stressful my job is, Emily." -He defended the best he could._

"_Oh, and mine isn't?" -We work in the same place, so don't give me that bullshit." -She looked at him with a look that would skewer him._

"_I know, I told you I'm just tired, that's all." –Again he tried to defend himself with something akin to the truth._

"_You are not fine, you can't even listen to your kids when they are talking to you. Alana was talking to you for at least five minutes, and you didn't even hear a single word she said." -Emily said, placing her hands on her hips._

"_I'm sorry, I apologize about that." -He said, trying to calm his wife down._

"_Don't apologize, just tell me what's going on. I'm worried about you." -Her face finally softened, and he could see the true worry in her beautiful brown eyes. She approached and stepped really close to him, asking one more time what was wrong. He wanted to tell her, he truly did, but he couldn't. He would never put her at risk no matter what. He looked at her for an instant, and he couldn't help but look away avoiding her intense stare._

"_Nothing is wrong, I'm fine." -He lied again. Emily knew he was lying, and she rolled her eyes angrily and walked past him going upstairs without saying a single word to him. When he came upstairs, she was in bed already with her back facing the door._

_End flashback._

They had not talked since the fight, and he wanted to fix things but he didn't know how. He couldn't tell her the truth without getting her involved. He ran his hand over his hair frustrated…he had to find a way to protect his family and resolve this case…maybe he could find a way to fix things. He didn't want to go to bed mad at his wife, and he knew she was hurting too, he would find a way to fix things no matter what, and everything would go back to normal.

When everyone left for lunch around 2:00 PM, Emily glanced at her husband's office; she couldn't help but feel bad because she knew he had been there all morning without opening the door once. He had left that morning without eating breakfast, and he had been in his office since about 5:00 AM. She was still mad at him, but she also loved him more than anything in the world, and more than angry, she was worried about him. She knew something was wrong, and she just wished he would tell her what it was so they could fix it together like they always did. After all, that was what a marriage did, fix things together. She felt a little guilt in the pit of her stomach, too, because she knew that even though they worked in the same place, his job was far more stressful than hers. Not to mention Strauss always putting him through hell, even though he was always the first one to arrive at the BAU, and the last once to leave. Pile that on top of the cases and the horrible things they saw daily, these things grouped together impacted their lives completely, especially with the cases they see every day.

So, when she went to lunch, she got something for him, too, because she knew he wasn't going to go eat, and because she knew he had not had breakfast either. In fact, she realized he had hardly eaten the last couple of weeks, and it was beginning to show on him. When she returned to the office, the rest of the team had not returned yet, so, she thought it would be a great opportunity to get him alone and maybe talk. She was hurting badly, too, and she knew they needed to talk, they had gotten into a fight and they never fought, and it pained her very much for them to be angry at each other. She was just worried, she wanted to know what was wrong with him and try and fix it...she would do anything to make him happy, he was the love of her life. So, she placed her bag on her desk, picked up the files she had been working on all morning and the lunch bag she had gotten for him and made her way to his office.

She knocked on the door softy and stepped in when she heard the "come in" behind the door. She walked in quietly, looking at the man she loved who seemed to be more tired and older than ever, and that made her feel worse. Aaron looked up from his files to see the woman he had shared a life with for the past six years walk in.

"Hey, here are my files for all the past cases." -She said softly, placing them on his desk.

"Thank you." -He could see the sadness on her face, and it pained him so much he could feel it in his heart.

"I brought you something to eat." -She said, placing the bag on his desk, too.

"Thank you, I'll eat later." -He said, and felt even guiltier because she still cared enough to bring him lunch and loved him so much.

"Please eat something. I know you didn't eat any breakfast this morning, and I know you haven't eaten right lately. Please...you're going to get sick." -She said softly.

"I'm fine, I'll eat something later."-He said, looking at her sadly again.

"Aaron please...just please..." -Her voice broke down, and he could see the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. Without being able to help himself, he stood up and approached the brunette and pulled her into his arms. She clung to him tightly and for a second, they both forgot where they were.

"I'm sorry." -He said, hugging her tightly…she just nodded, and he knew she was crying, so he hugged her even tighter. He pulled away, but held her in his arms; thankfully, the blinds of his office were closed. He pulled away enough to gently wipe the tears away that were falling from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, baby." -He apologized again.

"I'm sorry, too, I'm sorry I yelled at you...I'm just so worried about you. I know something is bothering you, and you won't tell me, and I'm really worried." -She continued, tears streaming down her face still.

"We tell each other everything. I'll always be here for you." -She said, while the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I know baby...I know...but, I'm okay, and I need you to trust me when I say that I'm fine. Everything is just fine." -He knew he needed to be the strong one and to calm his wife down; he was going to calm down for now and not worry, so, he promised himself he would not let this show on his face until the Reaper really appeared.

"Can you please eat something for me?" -She begged, it really worried her that he wasn't eating his food.

"Okay, I promise you." -He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips tenderly.

"I love you more than life itself." -He said, looking deeply into her eyes as though looking through her soul.

"Promise?" -She asked, in a cracked voice.

"Always and forever." -He replied, smiling deeply at her, feeling joy rising in his body finally for the first time in a few weeks.

Suddenly, the phone on his desk rang, and they pulled out of their embrace, and he walked across his office to his desk to answer the phone.

"Hotchner" -He answered.

"Mr. Hotchner, I'm sorry to bother you, this is Nurse Roberts, Mr. Shaunessy's nurse, I just wanted to inform you Mr. Shaunessy passed away this morning."


	4. Chapter 4

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Chapter 4: The Calm After the Storm

Later that night, after Aaron had received the call from Nurse Roberts stating that Shaunessy had passed away, he was at his house with his family. He had not told Emily or anyone else about the call. After Aaron hung up from the nurse, he pretended like it was nothing, and he told Emily another little white lie, and once again pretended everything was okay. The days have passed by slower than any other days of his life, but Aaron was vigilant; he knew it was just a matter of time before the Reaper struck again… but how long? When would he kill again? Would it take him days? Would it take him weeks, or would it take him months? He didn't know, but he knew that as soon as the Reaper was back, the fear and the panic in the streets would be unforgettable. Aaron was worried for many things; he knew he had a great team…the best in the entire country probably, but they didn't even have a profile for the Reaper yet, so they didn't even know where to begin. Another thing he had decided was there was no way in the world he was going to let Emily participate in this case, and he automatically knew this was going to lead to another horrendous fight...he knew his wife, and she didn't always take "no" for an answer, especially in a situation where her family was concerned. He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a way to alert the Boston Police Department without causing fear or panic.

Aaron finally decided to go home and attempt to spend some time with his family since Emily had already read him the riot act. He also realized that before all hell broke loose, he wanted to enjoy and cherish his family, and share as much happiness as he could possibly enjoy before this became a nightmare. He knew things soon would be bad, and this case would probably change his life, but for now, just for tonight, he wanted to forget about the Reaper and concentrate on his family, a gift from heaven, because he knew soon this would also be jeopardized.

Aaron was watching a movie with both of his children in the living room, and for the first time in two weeks his mind was focused on something else. He was sitting on the sofa and both Alana and Jack were lying on the carpet with a bunch of pillows watching Frozen for what seemed like the thousandth time that month. Since both he and Jack knew they had no word over the two girls in the house, they had no option but to comply with Lanny's wishes and watch Frozen for the 1,001th time.

Lanny was smiling widely and giggling, because no matter how many times she had watched the movie, she always laughed non-stop, which made Aaron the happiest man on earth. Emily was finishing the last load of laundry since he had already helped her clean the kitchen and check the kid's homework.

Aaron watched, smiling, as his two kids were fascinated with the movie; no matter how hard his day had been his kids always put a smile on his face. Emily came in the room a little later, and she smiled widely at the sight of her family spending time together. She walked further into the living room next to the sofa where Aaron was sitting.

"Frozen again?" -She asked rolling her eyes and smiling.

"How many times are we going to watch this movie, Lanny?" -She asked, exasperated at the four year old whose eyes didn't move from the TV.

"Forever, mommy...I love Frozen." -The little girl responded with her eyes on the television.

"Forever? Really?" -Emily smirked, since she was growing really bored with the film…she look at her husband hoping he would back her up.

"Hey...she's your daughter." -Aaron said, shrugging his shoulders.

"She is just as stubborn as you are." -He added, teasing his wife. Emily looked at him incredulously and was about to protest when he pulled her hand a little roughly causing her to fall into his lap. Emily just laughed, and before she had time to respond or do anything else, he captured her mouth in a kiss.

"I am not stubborn!" -Emily protested, pouting when he finally freed her mouth.

Aaron was about to say something when his wife placed a finger gently on his lips to stop him from saying anything at all.

"Don't say a word or else." -She said, giving him a warning look.

"Or else what?" -He teased, pulling the brunette into his arms again and kissing her neck gently. Emily tilted her head up to whisper in his ear gently; she spoke very low so the kids wouldn't hear a word, which wasn't necessary because they were both totally absorbed in the film.

"Or else you won't be getting any tonight." -Her low and sensual voice made him shiver.

"Is that so? We'll see about that!" -He smirked, capturing her mouth again, the kids completely oblivious to what was going on between their parents. He kissed her passionately, and then very discreetly he slid his hand under her blouse cupping her breast gently. Emily immediately pulled away and snatched his hand, blushing instantaneously and squealing.

"!Aaron!" -She sat up immediately, horrified at the sight of her kids having witnessed any of what had just happened, but to her relief their eyes had not moved from the television. She turned around to face her husband again, and she slapped his chest playfully while she gave him a scolding look. The devilish look on her husband's face was priceless, and he was laughing at how blushed his wife's cheeks were.

"I hate you." -She said playfully.

"That's ok...because I have enough love for both of us." -He once again pulled her in for a kiss, which she reciprocated sweetly, and then she settled in his lap to finish watching the movie with the kids before they had to get ready for bed.

Once the movie was over, Emily ordered Jack and Alana both to go put their pajamas on and brush their teeth, while they straightened the living room where the family had been gathered together. Then it was time to go to bed, and the couple walked together to put their children to sleep. That was another thing Aaron loved about Emily, she always referred to them as their children, "their" even if Jack wasn't her biological son, she treated him as if he was, and she would treat both kids exactly the same way whether it was to spoil them or reprimand them. Even with Jack, Aaron never objected if Emily had to step in to reprimand Jack, which was very rarely because Jack was the closest thing to a perfect child; still, he knew Jack adored Emily and saw her like another mom, and he had a tremendous amount of respect for her…actually he listened to Emily probably more than he did to his father. So, the couple walked together into Lanny's room, which was painted light purple and was filled with fairies and princesses, and at this current moment was also decorated with Frozen's theme.

"Can we read a story please, Daddy...PLEASE! Lanny said, bouncing by her father's side; she made the last words as loud as she could, giving her dad a puppy dog look. Aaron would have fallen for that beautiful smile and face even if she didn't beg; however, his eyes landed on his wife who was already giving her a scolding look.

"Sweetie is already past nine you should have gone to bed a while ago, you need to go to sleep now." -Emily told her four year old, who was now pouting at her.

"Please, mommy, please." -She whined.

"Not tonight, Alana, its bed time, please!" -Emily said more firmly and with "that tone", the tone she usually used when if any of her kids or husband didn't do as she said, they knew there were serious consequences.

Alana nodded sadly and jumped in her bed, for a four year old she was very smart; she knew exactly how to get whatever she wanted from each of her parents. She knew that with Aaron she could get anything she wanted, he would hardly ever say no to her…he was the one that spoiled her the most, something unusual for the very stoic Aaron Hotchner, who would have thought that a four year old with beautiful curls and eyelashes would be his weakness. Alana knew exactly how to get away with anything when it came to her dad. With her mother, however, things were different…Emily loved her children fiercely, and she tried to spoil them as much as she could and show them how much she loved them every minute of time she spent with them, but, she was also in charge of discipline in Alana's case, and Jack sometimes. While Emily would never hurt any of her children, she would not think twice about giving Lanny a couple of spanks when she was misbehaving, which were usually hardly a touch, but Alana knew very well it was never a good idea to get on mommy's bad side. So, she jumped in her bed and let her parents tuck her in for bedtime.

"Good night baby." –Emily said soothingly, turning all the lights off and just left on the unicorn lamp that lighted Alana's room at night. Emily pressed a kiss on her daughter's forehead, as the little girl wrapped her arms around her mom's neck and kissed her.

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you more." -Emily replied, smiling and pressed one more kiss on her daughter's nose. Once Aaron said goodnight to Alana and kissed her, too, they both walked out of the room closing the door walking together towards Jack's room. Jack had a very neat and organized room, in fact, Emily had never seen a nine year old with a room so organized…he was, after all, his father's son. Jack also jumped in bed when Aaron and Emily walked into the room.

"Emmy, can we go to the dinosaur museum this weekend if you and daddy don't have to work?" -He asked the brunette who sat on the edge of his bed next to him.

"Yes, of course, honey, but right now I need you to go to bed, it's late already." -She said while she pressed a kiss on his forehead.

"Okay, good night, daddy, good night, Emmy." -Jack said, while he settled back on his blanket, and let Emily and his dad tuck him into his bed. Aaron also kissed Jack good night, and once again, the couple walked out of the room together, making their way into the master bedroom.

A few minutes later, Emily was in the bathroom washing her face and brushing her teeth when Aaron stepped in the doorframe and just watched her. She was wearing a red silk gown, and his eyes immediately scanned her body. In his mind, she was the sexiest woman he had ever seen in his life, even above Haley; Haley was beautiful, but she didn't have the innate "fire" that Emily had. Even with the fear that the Reaper was about to strike, he couldn't help getting turned on that easily by his wife, no woman had ever made him feel such a strong desire. Emily turned to see her husband and gave him a smile, Aaron didn't even respond to her. He just stepped closer into the bathroom and pulled the brunette into his arms and started kissing her senseless, catching Emily by surprise. Despite all the trouble that he was facing and all the stress he had, and how worried and terrified he was, he had promised himself this night, at least, just this night, he wasn't going to let this stop him from enjoying and cherishing his family. And, that also included having a very memorable night with his wife.

Emily pulled away after her husband had assaulted her mouth until he had left her breathless.

"Well hello there!" -She said, smiling at him widely.

"Hello, sexy." -Aaron said, looking at her with his eyes full of desire, and she could see that desire very well in him.

"So, about your warning earlier...what if I don't want to behave? What if I want to be very bad tonight?" -He asked Emily huskily.

"Mmmmm." -Emily smiled, as he softly began kissing her neck. He captured her mouth again as his hand slid down between her legs, pressing his wife softly against the bathroom counter and sliding his fingers between her thighs, feeling how wet she already was. Without another warning, he lifted her in his arms, and she wrapped her long slender legs around his waist as he moved them from the bathroom to their bed.

He gently placed her on the bed, removing his own shirt, then he joined his wife in bed capturing her mouth in a fiery and passionate kiss. Emily moaned into his mouth as his rough and calloused hands moved underneath her gown caressing her breasts and pinching her nipples a little roughly. Emily tried to speak between kisses, but by the way he was assaulting her mouth, it was almost impossible.

"Honey...the...door." -She managed to say in between his kisses.

"Shhhhhh." -He silenced her, pressing a finger on her rosy lips.

"The door is locked, and the kids are sleep, and now you are alllllll mine." -He said huskily taking off her gown. His attention was now totally focused on her now puckered nipples pulling one into his mouth and biting it gently. Emily arched her back and moaned softly. Just the sight of his wife like this, enjoying all the delicious and sinful things he was doing to her, made him completely forget about everything else including the Reaper.

"God, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in this world." He said, looking deeply into her eyes and watching her pupils dilate and her ivory checks blush. Her hands moved to cup his large erection through his pajama pants, and that made him even harder. She flipped them on the bed sitting on his legs and leaning down to kiss his jaw, moving down to his neck, and he could feel her soft warm lips trailing down his chest and his toned abdomen. Aaron closed his eyes moaning softly as her mouth did indescribable things to his body. She pulled down his pajama pants slowly taking them off completely, and her face immediately moved to his shaft and before he could open his eyes again, her mouth was on his shaft licking the pre cum from his large mushroom shaped head while she gently moved her hand up and down his engorged penis. When she took him in her mouth completely, looking up at him through the silky strands of her hair, he felt like he couldn't take a deep breath because it felt so good, and when he finally could breathe, he thought he was going to explode.

"Em…baby...wait..." -He said, trying to pull his wife away because he knew if she continued doing that there was no way he could manage to control himself with her. He finally was able to pull her up gently and flipping them on the bed again, his hands immediately moved to remove her underwear. He was going to go for her center, but Emily stopped him.

"Don't...please, I want you inside me now!" -He smiled and moved over her taking his very large member in his hand to push himself at her entrance. Just to play with her a little, he rubbed himself around her moist opening and teased her by pushing gently into her about an inch then immediately pulled himself out. While he was teasing her, he captured her mouth again, making her whimper, and finally she moaned and begged him to please don't tease her, that she wanted him inside her so badly, and he slowly slid inside her, making her whimper in his mouth. As he began his thrust into her, Emily's hips arched up to meet his each time; she couldn't help it, it felt like it was a natural reaction from her body to his. Aaron's body going into hers felt like heaven to her. Their bodies just fit together like they were made for each other.

One of the things he loved about his marriage with Emily was the openness and trust they had with each other in their intimacy. They had a very, very healthy sex life, in fact, they probably enjoyed sex more they were supposed to. He was just grateful that at his age he could still please his wife and make love to her every night. They never grew bored, no matter what, they enjoy their intimacy and both were willing to experiment with new ways of making love. They would make slow, passionate love taking their time and enjoying every touch, every caress, every minute, or, they could have fun sex where they told each other dirty things and would please each other in different ways; or they could have rough sex, where they ended up with scratches on their backs, almost like they were fighting to see who was going to come out on top, fucking hard and fast. But, tonight he didn't want that, and although it was one of his favorite games with his wife, tonight he wanted to make slow, passionate love to her, he wanted to enjoy her beautiful body and take all the time he could making his wife climax as many times as he possibly could; tonight he wanted to enjoy every second he could in bed with the beautiful woman whom he was proud to call his wife.

"Oh God, Aaron." -Emily moaned, as he moved inside her slowly making her enjoy each thrust, keeping deep eye contact with her.

"Talk to me, baby, tell me how it feels." -He said, capturing her mouth in a kiss and swallowing the soft scream she emitted.

"It feels so good." -She said, opening her eyes to look at her husband. The love and lust she could see in his eyes turned her even more on.

"I love you." -He said, the small drops of sweat forming on his forehead. His concentration on the long deep thrusts was beginning to fracture a little because it felt so good to him as he went deeply inside her hot and moist body, he just didn't know how much longer he could keep up his slower pace because he was beginning to want to pound into her and make her scream his name.

"Promise?" -Emily asked, whimpering.

"Always and forever." -He said, as he finally couldn't hold off moving inside her more rapidly, as he felt the tingling in his stomach and groin area beginning.

"Forever?" -Emily asked again, digging her heels into his ass bringing him deeper inside her.

"Yes, forever and ever...oh, Goddam, baby..." -He grunted and moaned in her ear.

He continued his thrusts until both he and his wife were moaning and breathing erratically, and soon they both shared a climax, and Aaron fell on Emily exhausted because his arms would no longer hold him up. Finally, Aaron pulled out of her and rolled over, resting on the mattress, and Emily turned on her side and cuddled close to her husband so they were spooning. He wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her even closer to his body. After a few minutes and once their breathing evened out, he spoke softly in her ear, "I love you more than anything in this world, no matter what happens."

Emily turned around in his arms and looked at him with questioning eyes, thinking this was a very odd declaration of love.

"Why do you say that, Aaron?" -She asked, concerned. Aaron couldn't bear to see the slight sting of worry across her beautiful eyes.

"Nothing, sweetheart, just that I love you with my entire soul and being, and I will for the rest of my life, and it just hit me in my heart so deeply and I had to tell you." -He said, kissing her nose.

"Well, I love you, too, mister, and I will love you for more than forever." Aaron laughed and kissed her temple, the joy that she gave him was priceless, the joy that his kids gave him was the best gift in the world, he had everything he had ever wanted, and he was going to protect his family, no matter what, even if it meant his own life. They fell sleep in each other's arms, and Aaron finally got rest that night as he waited for the storm to arise.

Around six in the morning, his phone rang waking him up; he grabbed the phone answering in the dark so he wouldn't wake Emily.

"Hotchner."

"Agent Hotchner, this is Sergeant O'Mara, I'm sorry to call you this early..."

"You wanted to know about any unusual homicides in Boston?" -The Sergeant said slowly. Aaron sat up in his bed listening quietly; Emily had also awakened and was looking at him with a worried face.

"We just found a young woman and her boyfriend, she was stabbed 47 times, and he was shot in the head just outside of Mile 128." -O'Mara told Aaron.

"Any particular signature?" -Aaron asked, as his heart started to beat fast.

"The Eye of Providence was drawn with blood on the vehicle of the couple." -The Sergeant said, and with those last words, Aaron's mouth got dry, and he find trouble breathing, and he knew it had begun and their lives would never be the same.

"We'll be there as soon as possible." -He said, hanging up the phone and getting up to get dressed immediately. His heart was beating like it was going to come out of his chest, but there was no other way, the Reaper was back.

"What's going on?" -Emily asked, sitting up in bed and looking up at her husband.

"Nothing, I just have to go to the office right now." -He told her, avoiding her gaze, getting dressed as quickly as he could.

"Please don't lie to me." -Emily said, scolding him with her eyes…she knew all of her husband's expressions.

"It's about a case." -Aaron exhaled, looking at his wife.

"We don't know much yet, I'll go in and find out if you'll take the kids to school, then meet me at the office, ok?"

Emily just nodded as he bent over to kiss her and rushed out of the room. She knew something was wrong, she could feel it, and she had the feeling it was going to affect their lives in some really bad way.


	5. Chapter 5

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Chapter 5: The Reaper

When Emily arrived at Quantico a few hours later after she had dropped the kids off at their schools, there was total chaos…everyone was running from one place to another. JJ was running toward the conference room with many files in her hands. Emily's first thought was, "What the hell is going on!?" She had the feeling something bad was really going on by the way her husband had acted when he left in that morning, and her suspicions were confirmed when she stepped into the bullpen. She stopped in front of her desk and placed her belongings in their usual spots in her desk drawer, as she glanced around. Looking up, she immediately made her way to the conference room where she saw the rest of the team was already seated. Everyone looked very worried as they intently pored through the current file they had on their tablets. Emily walked into the conference room and said,

"What's going on?" -She asked in a very worried voice.

"We might be heading to Boston." -JJ answered, placing more files on the table for the team to review. JJ seemed very tense and terrified, and that worried Emily even more.

Before Emily could ask more questions, Hotch walked into the conference room. He had been on the phone with the Boston Police Department and Sergeant O'Mara trying to convince them this present case was not a copycat, but the real Reaper. He had also been on the phone with the Directors of the Bureau; he needed to explain what was going on because the BAU was going to be a very vital part of this investigation. As soon as he walked in, Emily shot Aaron a worried look, which he immediately ignored and began addressing the team.

"Sorry about the wait, guys." -He said, then he walked toward JJ.

"I've got this, JJ." -He said, referring to the screen projector and beginning the briefing of the case.

JJ nodded and sat down next to Dave; Hotch's entire team looked in his direction as he started to speak quietly…

"Last night, Nina Hale and her boyfriend, Evan Harvey, were murdered just off Route 128", Hotch began by projecting the pictures of the crime on the screen; he proceeded…speaking, "Nina's throat was slashed, and then she was stabbed 47 times, Evan was bludgeoned, then shot in the head. This was drawn on the couple's vehicle." -Hotch brought up the picture of the Eye of Providence drawn in blood on the side of the car.

"Wait, that was the Reaper's signature, wasn't it?" -Reid questioned looking at the screen.

"So, we have a copycat." -Morgan stated firmly.

"It's not a copycat." -Hotch finally confessed, aware of six pair of eyes that were now looking at him in shock.

"A few weeks ago, I received a call from Detective Tom Shaunessy…" -Hotch continued, speaking finally sharing with his team what he had hidden for the past couple of weeks.

Then the picture of the piece of paper Shaunessy had given Hotch that had the deal he had made with the Reaper popped up on the screen.

"Ten years ago, the Reaper case was in chaos, he was killing without mercy, and we were not any closer to catching him." -Hotch said.

"We?" -Emily finally spoke, looking at her husband with questioning eyes.

"The Reaper was my first case as a lead profiler for the BAU." –He said as he made eye contact with his wife for a second, then his attention went back to the screen where the note with the deal was still on display.

"The Reaper sent this to Shaunessy as a contract suggesting that if we stopped looking for him, he would stop killing." -Hotch finally said.

"You guys made a deal with a murderer?" -Morgan questioned in shock.

"We didn't, Shaunessy did, he shut down the investigation and sent us home...we...I believed that the case was closed...I never became aware of such deal until a few weeks ago?" –Hotch started and was interrupted by…

"_Until death do us apart." -_Dave read from the screen.

"Tom Shaunessy passed away last night; he contacted me a few weeks ago, knowing he was on his deathbed and made me aware of this deal. He knew the Reaper would be back as soon as their contract was over." -Hotch said again. He was very aware of the looks his wife was sending him, but he chose to ignore her.

"Okay, the Reaper is back, but we don't have a profile, right?" -Emily said, looking through the pictures, knowing that as mad as she was at her husband for hiding this from her, they needed to focus on the case. She would repair things with her husband later when they were alone.

"No, we don't, that's why the case is officially a BAU case. I've already contacted the Boston Police Department, and they'll be expecting us today." -He told the team.

"But, before we leave, I wanted to brief this with you guys. Boston PD is keeping the story that it is a copycat to not raise panic and to keep everyone safe until we can build a profile." -He turned the screen off and directed his remarks to the team.

"I think this is going to be one of the biggest cases we'll probably have to handle, and I need everyone's head totally focused on this. As mad as we are at Shaunessy for making such a deal, criticizing his actions isn't going to help resolve the case." -He said firmly, then directed everyone's attention to what he needed them to do when they got to Boston:

"Morgan and Dave, when we get there, I want you to go to the field office and set up everything there…Boston PD is willing to cooperate and help as much as we need." -He instructed. Those two profilers nodded, standing up from the round table to leave.

"JJ and Reid, you will come with me to the crime scene…we need to analyze the scene as carefully as we can." -He directed, as he turned his attention to the blonde profilers. JJ and Reid nodded and closed down their files following after Morgan and Dave.

"Garcia and Prentiss, I want you both to stay here in Quantico and run victimology to help me find all the information you can on the victims from his previous killings and to see what is connected to the new victims in this case. You will be in charge of victimology throughout the entire case." -Hotch told them firmly. Emily just looked at him in shock.

"What! NO, Hotch, I'm not staying here, I could help much more if I go to Boston!" -She protested, as everyone turned back to look at her…she was right; however, no one had ever contradicted Hotch's orders. He didn't respond to her.

"Wheel's up in twenty." -He said, walking out of the conference room and going into his office avoiding his wife's gaze.

Emily immediately followed after him.

"Aaron, I am talking to you." -She said insistently…"You can't keep me here at Quantico, we're talking about one of the most heinous serial killers in the history of Boston." -She said, looking at him in shock.

"Which is why I need you here to help Garcia with the database." -He replied, as he picked up more files from his desk placing them in his briefcase.

"Help her with what?! Garcia is a computer geek, and she doesn't need any help from me." -She pointed out.

"But, she doesn't know how to work victimology which is why you're staying here to help her." -The unit chief replied a little more firmly; he knew this was going to happen. Hotch knew Emily was going to flip as soon as he told her she wasn't going to fly with them on this case, but he didn't care…even if he made her mad and had to make up with her later, there was no way he was going to let her get involved in this case in Boston, no matter what.

"I can work victimology from Boston and still help her, Aaron…you need me more there than you need me here." -She said angrily, looking at her husband.

"No I don't, I need you here working victimology, and I need you home with the children." -Aaron said, using his Unit Chief tone and looking at her more firmly while walking toward the door.

"The kids can stay with your mom, and what does that have to do with this case, Aaron...you have to know how to differentiate our work life from our personal life... can't you do your job right?" -She snapped, she knew she shouldn't have said that, but he was beginning to upset her. She couldn't understand why he was making her stay, especially on a case that was so serious and delicate. Aaron turned back on his heels and approached his wife; he was very angry at her stubbornness; and he hovered over her looking at her sternly…

"Fine, you want me to differentiate and do my job, fine..." -Aaron said glaring at her with piercing eyes, "As your husband, I am telling you…no, I am ordering you to stay home and to be with our daughter because it's not my mom's responsibility, it's yours, she's your daughter!" -He said, raising his voice to her. That was a slap to her face, and he knew it, but right now, he need to say anything that would keep her from coming on this flight to Boston…even if that meant making her furious at him.

"As your boss, I am ordering you to stay here in Quantico and help Garcia with victimology. I don't have to justify my orders to you, and you do have to follow them." -Aaron said to her in a very harsh voice, which made Emily automatically take a step back. He turned around and walked out of his office angrily…leaving the stunned brunette in shock. She just stood there looking at him walk towards the exit door, feeling very overwhelmed with a mixture of feelings. She was so mad at him for making her stay behind, when she knew they would probably need her more there; she was extremely worried about him and this case, and she finally could understand why he had been acting weird. She was so furious at the way he had talked to her, but more than anger, she felt sadness…he truly had never spoken to her in that manner, either as her boss or her husband, she knew she should have never defied him, not specially in front of everyone on the team. He was right about Alana, they had made a deal when she was first born that he would be the one traveling, and she would work in the office and help from there and stay home with their daughter and only come help in cases where her help was absolutely necessary. But, he didn't have to talk to her like that, although she knew she had pushed his buttons. She just felt sad…he truly never raised his voice at her like that. She could feel the tears were threatening to fall from her eyes and blinked them back; she knew something was wrong, and she definitely knew he was hiding something from her. Garcia walked inside his office giving her another reason to blink the tears away.

"Hey sugar, so, it looks like it's just the two of us?" -Garcia said, smiling at the brunette; Garcia was kind of used to having Emily in the office by now, ever since she had given birth to her daughter. Emily didn't travel with the team as much as she once did so she could stay at home with Alana. She usually stayed and helped from the office, which was totally okay with Penelope because she loved Emily's company, and they made a great team.

"Yeah, it looks that way…I'll be there in a minute." -Emily said, smiling at the blonde woman. Emily truly needed a minute to compose herself to hide how angry and bothered she was at Aaron's decision to leave her at Quantico, when she was sorely needed in Boston. Penelope nodded and made her way back to her office; she could tell Emily was not happy because Hotch had made her stay at Quantico. Although she didn't travel as much anymore, she did usually go with them when cases were very important or difficult, and this case in particular was a big one, probably one of the most difficult ones the team will ever have to work, which was also why Garcia was surprised that he had told Emily to stay behind…after all, Emily was one of the best profilers the BAU had, sometimes even better than Hotch. However, no one had ever questioned his decisions, or contradicted him, much less in front of the team, so Garcia knew Emily had to have had a very good reason to do it, and she also knew Emily was beyond mad. Garcia went into her office to wait for the brunette to begin working on victimology…the sooner they started to work on this case, the sooner they had a chance to catch the Reaper.

**BOSTON **

As soon as the team arrived in Boston, they split up and started working on their assigned areas of expertise. Hotch, JJ and Reid immediately headed to the crime scene where several detectives and Sergeant O'Mara were waiting for them. Hotch had already informed Sergeant O'Mara this case wasn't a copycat, and he had made him aware of the deal Shaunessy had made when the case was active before. Of course, they had to keep that information a secret from the other detectives, law enforcement officers and the public so they wouldn't create panic. They arrived and got out of the SUV to meet with the Sergeant.

"Sergeant O'Mara." -Hotch said, shaking his hand.

"Agent Hotchner, thank you for responding so fast." –Sergeant O'Mara responded, smiling at the team.

"This is SSA Jennifer Jareau and Dr. Reid. They're here to analyze the crime scene." -Sergeant O'Mara greeted the two profilers, and then he instructed his offices to give them anything they needed. Reid was the first one to speak…

"Nina was stabbed and her throat was slashed; Evan was bludgeoned and then shot, we're looking at two different types of MO." -He said.

"He likes to spend more time with his female victims, especially when they were younger." -Hotch said, as he went through the pictures and analyzed the vehicle of the victims. Hotch checked the pictures of Evan and realized Evan was wearing a pair of glasses, and that didn't match with the information they had for him.

"The glasses aren't his, we need to recover those back for evidence." -Hotch said, firmly looking at JJ and Reid, both whom were looking at him confused.

"The Reaper liked to take personal things from the victims and place them on the next victim as a signature." –Hotch said, turning his eyes back to the files.

"So, who was the last victim that he murdered?" -JJ questioned.

"George Foyet, but he didn't die." -Hotch replied, again looking at the file.

"He survived?" -Reid asked in shock!

"Yes, and I have a feeling he's in danger, too, so we need to find him, let's go back to the field office." -Hotch instructed.

Back at the office, the team gathered with the Boston Police Department where they were going through the file pictures and discussing the case.

**Quantico**

Emily and Garcia had thoroughly studied all his previous victims; they had attempted to find a connection, but so far, they had been unsuccessful; there just weren't any, they were different ages, different genders, and different socioeconomic statuses.

"So, this man got off on power and control, why would he offer to stop killing?" –Emily posited the question, as both she and Garcia perused the pictures on the screen.

"Because he is very sick?" -Garcia answered, terrified at all the descriptive pictures she had on her screen.

"It had to be more than that, he manipulated the lead police detective into making a deal with him, and that meant he was in power again, but it still doesn't match with his profile." -Emily said musing, her eyes on the file she had in her hands. The ringing from Garcia's telephone interrupted the two females, Garcia bounced the call to her screen and answered…

"I thought you guys had forgotten about us." -Garcia answered, smiling as Hotch's face appeared on the screen.

"Garcia, have you found anything else on George Foyet?" -He asked, his eyes immediately falling on his wife, who, at this moment, had her eyes on the files and Hotch was sure it was intentional.

"We haven't found much really, he was stabbed 47 times, which he survived if you can believe that, after he and his girlfriend were attacked by The Reaper. He survived because of the call The Reaper made."

"The Reaper made a call after each of his killings to alert the police where to find the bodies." -Emily proceeded to explain, with her eyes still on the file…the last thing she wanted to do was look at her husband since she was still furious with him, but she knew that she had to remain professional at all times.

"Garcia, I need you to find Foyet, if The Reaper left his glasses at the crime scene that means Foyet could be in danger, and we need to let him know, and protect him if he'll let us." -Hotch ordered.

"I'll get right on that." -Garcia promised nervously.

"Hotch, I think Prentiss should fly over here; she is one of the best we have, man..." -Morgan finally said." -but Hotch just ignored him. Emily's eye moved from the file to lock with her husband's, standing up on the other side of the computer screen.

"That will be all Garcia." -Hotch said, disconnecting the call, and then the computer screen went blank on her side.

**Boston**

Morgan looked at Hotch who walked away from the conference room where they were without answering his question. Morgan was wondering what the hell Hotch's problem was and why wouldn't he let Emily participate in the case. Morgan was just thinking that Hotch's attitude was really off these past few days.

In the meantime, Hotch went outside to speak to one of the reporters about keeping the murders away from the media until they gave them permission to do release the details to the public.

As soon as Hotch was finished talking to the reporters, Dave approached him…he had also noticed that Hotch had been acting weird for the last couple of weeks and was kind of concerned about him, after all, Hotch was his best friend. He also couldn't understand why he didn't want to let Emily participate in the case; Morgan was right, they needed her, and Hotch's behavior was absolutely odd.

"Are you alright?" -Dave questioned Hotch.

"I will be fine when we catch this guy." -He told Dave.

"You and me both, man." -He agreed.

"You know Morgan is right, we could use Prentiss down here, and we need her skills." Dave told Aaron, trying to make him see reason.

"I'm aware of that, which is why I need her to help Garcia working the profile. I don't have to explain my orders to anyone." -Hotch said firmly.

"I'm not asking you to explain, I'm just saying we have a serial killer, Aaron, we need as much help as we can get." -Dave said, trying to calm his friend down.

"Do you think I don't know that? Dave, I've been doing this job for ten years, I know what we do, or don't, need okay. I'm the leader of this team." -He snapped at Dave. He hadn't mean to, it just so happened that Dave was the third person, including Emily, that had questioned his decision about having Emily stay at Quantico, and it was making him angry now.

But, before Dave could respond to him, JJ approached them and by the look on her face, she was not bringing them good news.

"They've found another couple murdered."-She told them, looking at both profilers with a terrified look in her eyes.

Dave and Hotch exchanged defiant looks, then Hotch moved past Dave going inside the police department. Hotch was terrified Dave could see it in his face, but Hotch needn't have worried, Dave saw something there, he just didn't know what is was, but he was sure it had something to do with Emily.

A/N:

_Dear Readers, we just wanted to prepare you for what is coming down the road…this is the beginning of what this story is ALL about. Please be kind to us when the s**t hits the fan, and it will, indeed, do that soon. We're going to have a bumpy ride, but trust me, everything will come out right in the end. We hope to titillate you, make you angry, make you sad, but most of all, make you happy. Just hang with us and enjoy these next several chapters and let us know how you like them._


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N **_

_**Hello my lovely readers, here we are with Chapter Six. I still have one more final test on Monday, but I am basically finished with this semester...YAYYYY! So, here we are...this is where everything starts going down...I hope you enjoy and remember to please review. That's the way I know if you are liking what you are reading. Also, don't forget to thank my editor and friend, SouthunLady, she is also a part of this story. **_

Chapter 6: Omnivore: Meet The Reaper

**Boston**

Hotch rushed inside the Police Department to get more details about the new murder. They had been there for less than four hours, and The Reaper had already managed to kill another couple, and it was going to get much worse...this was just the beginning. Hotch remembered ten years ago and how many people The Reaper had killed and how much damage he had caused. He was very affected by this case and he knew his team could see it too; after all, they were profilers and very the very best ones, at that. Hotch knew that Dave had reason to question his actions regarding Emily; hell, even Morgan did. That was the problem though, they were right, Emily's help was absolutely essential for the team and for the resolution of this case; she was, in his opinion, the best profiler they had, even better than himself, and he didn't think that because she was his wife. Hotch had felt like that before they even started dating...Emily was smart and very efficient, she had several different degrees, and she had many skills that she had obtained throughout her life. She was very quick in her actions, if anyone could solve a case it was definitely her, in fact, the majority of the time, it was her who ended up solving the cases.

Hotch knew that Emily was one of the BAU's strongest assets and that was one of the main reasons the BAU had approved Aaron's and Emily's relationship, and he knew the Bureau would simply not let her go that easily. In fact, he still wasn't sure why they hadn't fired him already and made Emily the unit chief. But, he couldn't bring her physically into this case; he knew that if The Reaper associated Emily with him, the first one in danger would be her. He also knew this was not an ethical decision, but he just couldn't risk it, he wasn't going to risk putting her out there. He had tried endless times to convince Emily to quit her job and stay home, telling her he could provide sufficiently for her and the kids, and that she didn't need to work. Hotch softly reminded Emily that he was already risking his life out there to support his family, and that she didn't need to do the same.

He explained that their kids needed one of their parents home to be with them, and that someone was Emily...it was just the right thing to do, but Emily told him she would never be a housewife, no matter what. They had a few intense fights about her quitting the BAU where he had tried to convince her to not work anymore, and they had ended badly...in fact, Hotch had spent the night on the couch a few times because of those arguments. After a while, Hotch had finally convinced her to work mostly at the office and only travel when was necessary, mostly for the more difficult cases, so she could still come home every night to their kids. So, she did agree to that...she only traveled on cases that were intense, more difficult and absolutely necessary, like this one. However, his reasons were different for this one even though he knew he was wrong. Hotch wasn't going to let her in on this case because he had a really bad feeling about this particular case, and as much as he respected his job and was devoted to the BAU, he was more devoted to his family, and he would do anything to protect them, anything.

So, Hotch went inside the Police Department almost shaking...he was more than terrified. More people had been killed, but he already knew this was going to happen, and he wasn't sure when this was going to stop. The only thing he knew was that he had to stop The Reaper, whatever it took. He knew that the team was also worried, and they were questioning his decisions about leaving Emily behind, but he wasn't going to worry about it now. He didn't have to explain his actions to anyone, and he was going to do whatever it took to protect his wife and family, even if it meant making her a little angry. Once the whole deal with The Reaper was over, he would have a chance to repair things with his wife.

He ordered the rest of the team to stay at the Police Department to work a profile while he and Dave went to the latest crime scene. Sergeant O'Mara was already there, along with the local law enforcement officers; this time the victims were an older couple that had been killed on the side of the road. When they arrived at the crime scene, Hotch and Dave immediately got out of the SUV and walked over to where the other officers were standing. They noticed that the couple was definitely much older...the husband had been stabbed, and the wife had been shot in the head once from what they could tell. Their identifications said their names were Arthur and Diane Lannesa. Both profilers approached the couple's vehicle and began to analyze the scene.

"So, he shot the women once this time...he spent more time with Nina Hale, so, he's not a misogynist like we've thought." Dave said, as he looked at the bodies.

"I think he only spends time with them if they are younger." Aaron said, looking at the woman sadly.

"What made them stop?" Dave wondered.

"He used a police ruse." Aaron answered, pointing toward the registration, license and insurance cards that were lying on the floor of the couple's car.

"Of course he did, it is isolated... and dark, the only way a vehicle is going to stop here in the middle of the night is for a cop." Dave confirmed.

"He left Nina's Hale watch." Aaron said, pointing his flashlight to the older woman's hand where two watches were lying.

"He took her wedding ring." Dave finished for Hotch.

Sergeant O'Mara approached them with an envelope in his hand; he had been talking with the Coroner and the evidence team.

"This was left on top of the car, the CSI techs were taking fingerprints and searching for any other DNA tracks," He said, as he handed Hotch the envelope that contained the picture of what seemed to be the older couple and their family at a family gathering. The picture had the word "FATE" followed by a simple exclamation mark written in blood. Aaron took the picture and closed his eyes to contain the anger that was building within him wondering what the message meant and if he had left one now, he had never left messages before, this was the first time.

"He's trying to tell us something. The question mark is new." Dave said, taking the picture from Hotch's hand to see if he could figure it out.

"It's for us." Hotch said firmly.

"He's saying we had ten years to stop him, and we didn't; he's saying this is what he can do...destroy families in the blink of an eye; he's saying this is not fate, and this is our fault for not making a deal with him." Hotch finished angrily. Dave analyzed his friend, really analyzed him.

"Wow! you got all that from a question mark? I knew you were good, but, this is impressive." He said, questioning his friend.

"I know his profile, Dave." Aaron answered, reading his friend's eyes.

"I thought you guys never developed a profile. Shaunessy sent you guys home before you could develop one." Dave added, looking at him suspiciously.

"He did, but I had already started the profile, and I was close to finishing it." Hotch confessed.

"Aaron, you do know this isn't your fault; Shaunessy made the deal, not you." Dave pointed out.

"I know that, it's just...this case...I can't let it go...I kept coming back to it over the years...I should have known, Dave..." He said quietly.

"You couldn't have known, and all you can do from here is help resolve what we have here." Dave said soothingly.

"Let's deliver the profile you have developed, let's focus from there." Dave added, looking at his good friend deeply.

Hotch nodded, and they both returned to the SUV. Dave kept sending questioning looks toward his friend; something was definitely wrong, and he didn't know what it was, but Hotch's behavior wasn't normal. He was too personally involved in this case, Dave just knew it. There was something about this case that bothered Hotch, and then there was the Emily thing...Dave didn't know why he had not let her participate come with them on this case, but whatever it was, he was going to be there for his friend no matter what.

When Hotch and Dave arrived back at the Police Station, they quickly gathered the team and the rest of the officers to deliver the profile. They began by telling everyone they were not certain this was a complete profile, but that Hotch had worked on this case for many years, not letting it go, therefore, he had been able to begin building a profile even before Shaunessy sent him home when The Reaper first appeared. So, they were going to use that information to start a profile on the current cases, and add to it as information developed. Thus, Hotch began speaking to everyone at the Police Station giving them the profile they had developed initially when The Reaper began killing, what he had developed after they had been pulled off the case, then concluded with what they had investigated and developed so far.

"I believe The Reaper fits the profile we refer to as an Omnivore...he doesn't target a specific victim type." He told everyone.

"He focuses on his female victims more, but he is a predator that will kill anyone. And he is not afraid of anything." He continued speaking.

"Most serial killers target a specific victim type...why doesn't he?" One of the detectives asked.

"Because his killings are more about recognition, he wants people to recognize him, he wants to make history." Hotch added.

"He draws the Eye of Providence after his killings, and he always leaves an object from his previous victims and takes a new one from the present killing." Reid added.

"These are all signs of power and control." Dave spoke. "That is why he manipulated Shaunessy into voluntarily surrendering and calling off the investigation. He wanted to show he could control the Police Department, too."

"Because he focuses on his younger victims, we can also deduce he is a hebephile, or someone who is attracted to adolescent post-pubescent girls." Hotch added.

"We need to look for men that have access authority, such as high school or college teachers, counselors, coaches and anyone who has been charged with sexual offenses against adolescents." Dave stated firmly.

Hotch told the officers in the room that if they came up with something that needed researched to let him know because they had a technical analyst with another top notch profiler back in D.C. that were also doing research, and were waiting to help with whatever they needed.

"That's all we have for now; let's start going through everything we have in the last ten years." Hotch ordered firmly, and he called his team into the conference room.

"We need to find George Foyet." Hotch said firmly, looking at his team.

"Garcia can't find him, man, there is no trace of him." Morgan said in a worried voice.

"Call her." He ordered.

A few minutes later, Garcia's face appeared on the screen; he could also see Emily next to her going through her iPad.

"I've got nothing, Sir, nothing...as in like he disappeared off the face of the earth." Garcia said as a greeting.

"That can't be possible, Garcia." Hotch said, a little frustrated.

"After he got out of the hospital when he was stabbed, he closed all his bank accounts, sold all his property and everything he had, he canceled everything...his phone, cards, there is nothing...it's like he killed himself" She said nervously, because she knew Hotch was very stressed about this case.

'Well, can you blame him.?" Emily finally spoke.

"How do you mean?" Hotch asked, and the couple made eye contact for the first time that day; however, Emily quickly moved her eyes away from him.

"He was almost killed, and he survived, and he is the only person alive that knows what The Reaper looks like. I think that more than killing himself, he is trying to hide from The Reaper." She said, looking at her husband again.

"But, he didn't know he was still out there. They made us believe he had been caught." Reid reasoned.

"She's right, he'll still want to hide from everything, we have to find him; there's a reason why The Reaper left his glasses at the crime scene...he's going after him." Hotch thoughtfully replied.

"I don't care what you have to do, Garcia... and Prentiss, find him, it's an order." Hotch was about to disconnect the call, when Emily spoke again.

"Wait, there was a book written called, 'The Night of The Reaper'...in it, there is a testimony given by Foyet...how did the writer get that confession if Foyet disappeared? Roy Colson is the author." Emily questioned. Hotch smiled slightly...this was why she was the best at the job.

"Good job, Prentiss, find Colson, we need to know where Foyet is." He finally disconnected the call and instructed his team on what to do next. Tracking down Colson wasn't difficult since he was a successful writer. They had his address in a very short period of time. At first, he didn't want to give out Foyet's information, but Hotch talked him into doing it by promising him full access to the BAU for an exclusive article after The Reaper was captured. So, Colson agreed to give them whatever information he had on Foyet, and Hotch and Dave headed to Foyet's house to talk to him. They parked outside the house waiting for him to arrive, and when they saw him coming back home, both agents got out of the car and approached him.

"George Foyet?" Hotch greeted, "I'm Aaron Hotchner, and this is Dave Rossi, we are FBI agents."

Foyet just looked at them, but he didn't look surprised to see them; it was as if he had been waiting for them to come.

"I knew he wasn't a copycat." Foyet said in a matter of fact tone.

"We need to talk with you." Hotch said.

"Okay, let's go inside, please." Foyet said, looking around as if someone was going to attack him.

As they walked inside the house, both agents noticed Foyet was limping the entire time, he look terrified and he was constantly shaking and coughing.

"We don't want to bother you, but we have a few questions we really need to ask you." Dave said politely.

"I understand, but could you please just make it quick, I can't be late for work." Hotch and Dave both nodded in reply.

They questioned him about the night he was attacked and asked as many questions as they thought would help them get a chance to catch The Reaper, but it was basically the same, they knew. The Reaper had used a ruse to approach him and his girlfriend; he told them he was going to propose his girlfriend that night, when The Reaper approached them pretending to be asking for directions. Then The Reaper proceeded to kill his girlfriend and stab him. Foyet claimed he didn't remember much after that. After he finished telling his story, he looked at Hotch.

"Do you think I'm in danger?" asked Foyet.

"We have reason to believe he left your glasses at the crime scene for a reason, but we can protect you, we can take you somewhere where you'll be safe." Hotch responded.

"No one can protect me, I'm staying here." Foyet said as he adamantly refused their help.

"We will get him, he's just a man, nothing more." Hotch stated firmly.

"Then why can you catch him?" Foyet asked, looking at Hotch intensely.

"We will," Hotch said, as he and Dave made their way out of his house. Foyet had refused help, and that was up to him. They tried to protect him and he had not let them, so, there was nothing else they could do.

A few hours later, after the team had delivered the profile, Hotch was in his hotel room going over the case for the millionth time that night; he had a bad migraine, he has tired, and he had not eaten anything all day. They had been working on the profile all day long, and they still didn't have much, so he decided to send his team to rest, and they would start fresh from zero in the morning. They needed to be rested with a clear head to be able to function properly. However, he hadn't been able to relax and rest, in fact, he was sure he wouldn't be able to rest again until they caught The Reaper. He was in his room going over the pictures and evidence they had, but his head was somewhere else; he was sad about what had happened with Emily in that morning. Hotch knew she was mad but he wanted to hear her voice. They always talked at night before bedtime, even if he was away on a case. He knew she probably wouldn't answer because she was mad at him for the way he had talked to her that morning, but he was going to take his chances. He pulled out his phone and called her.

**Washington D.C **

Emily was sitting on the sofa at home, Lanny was in her lap and she was reading for Emily. Lanny was in preschool still, but they had pushed their kids to learn things at an early age, and she had started reading a few months back, so, every night when they went over homework, Emily would make her read for 30 minutes so she could practice more. She had picked her up at school that day, and since Jack was with his mother that week she and Lanny were alone for the rest of the afternoon. Emily made dinner for her and her daughter, then they were doing homework together. Of course, Lanny was overjoyed to have her mom home, she loved every minute of the time she spent with her.

Lanny was reading "_The Stinky Cheese Man"_ to her mom when Emily's cellphone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Aaron calling her, she sighed, she didn't want to talk to him right now, but Lanny looked over, and since she could read her face lit up when she read who was calling.

"It's Daddy." She cried happily.

"Here, sweetheart, answer him and talk to him while I do the dishes, ok?" She instructed her daughter, placing her on the sofa and handing her the cell phone, walking into the kitchen.

"Hi, daddy!" The little girl answered happily.

Aaron smiled widely, although it wasn't his wife who answered, he was always happy to hear his beautiful daughter's voice. He also had a feeling Emily had intentionally made Lanny answer so she didn't have to talk to him. So, hiding the sadness in his voice, he proceeded to talk to his daughter.

"Hey princess, how are you?"

"I'm good, daddy, I miss you, when are you coming home?" Lanny asked sweetly.

"I don't know baby, daddy had to go to work." Aaron said to his baby girl.

"But why?" Lanny asked, sadly pouting.

"Well, daddy has to work, honey, but what do I always tell you when I go away?" He asked.

"That you have to get the bad guys for me and Jack, and that you love us." She answered, still a little sad.

"I love you with all my heart, sweetheart, you are my princess remember?" He asked smiling.

"Yes, I love you, too, daddy." Lanny said, finally smiling. Aaron finished talking to his daughter for a few minutes, the he finally decided to try to speak with Emily again.

"Sweetheart, can I talk to your mommy, please?" He asked, taking his chances.

"Okay, hold on..." He heard her little feet rushing to her mother. Alana walked into the kitchen where Emily was washing the dishes.

"Mommy, daddy wants to talk to you." She said, looking at her mother.

"Can you tell daddy that mommy is doing dishes, please." Emily didn't want to tell her four year old the real reason why she didn't want to talk to her dad.

"Daddy, mommy said she's busy." Aaron sighed, he knew that wasn't the reason why she didn't want to talk to him on the phone.

"Baby, can you do daddy a favor." He asked, he knew it might not work, but he had to at least try.

"Okay." The four year old nodded, listening to her dad. Emily watched as Lanny talked to her dad and suddenly she smiled and nodded. She pulled the phone away from her little ear and walked closer to Emily.

"Mommy, I have to do something, come here." She told her mom. Emily had no idea what was going on, but she kneeled on the floor to her daughters height. Suddenly, Lanny threw her arms around her mother and hugged her really tightly for a few minutes. Then she pressed a loud kiss on her mom's cheek.

"Daddy said he loves you and he's sorry." Emily finally smiled, looking at her daughter.

"Is daddy still on the phone?" She asked and Lanny nodded, handing her the phone.

"Hey sweetie, why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll come and tuck you in in a few minutes." She kissed her daughter's forehead. Lanny nodded and rushed out of the kitchen running upstairs to her room. Emily placed the phone to her ear...she was still so mad at him, but her love for him was stronger than her anger. Before she said anything Aaron spoke, he could hear her breathing through the phone.

"I am so sorry, Em, I know you're mad, I...just, I'm sorry." Aaron begged again. Emily exhaled.

"I don't want to talk about work. We'll talk about that when you come back." She said still with a slight bit of anger in her voice. Aaron just agreed.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice softening a little.

"I'll be fine, I just wanted to tell you good night and that I love you so much." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"You don't sound okay." She said, ignoring the I love you.

"I am, I...just want this over, so I can home to my family." That was really all he wanted.

"Your family wants you home, too..."-She confessed.

"I'll let you get back to your things, have a good night, baby." He told her.

"You, too...try to get some sleep." She was worried about him.

"I will, good night." He told her. He was about to hang up when she spoke again.

"Aaron." She called him, holding the tears

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too." Emily finally said. No matter how mad she was at him, she had to let him know that, sometimes that was all that they needed to hear.

"Good night, baby." He said, smiling widely for the first time that night. He would figure a way to make it up to his wife later, but for now all he wanted to do was to finish this case and catch The Reaper. He pulled his phone away and started going through the case again. When the phone for his hotel room rang, he was very surprised; nobody knew he was there, just the team and his wife. He had just hung up the phone with his wife, so there was no way it was her, and the team would not call him on his hotel room phone, they would call his cell phone. He stood up and went to pick up the phone.

"Hotchner." He answered.

At first, nobody answered, but he could hear the thick deep breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Who is this?" He asked.

"_If you stop hunting me, I will stop hunting them." T_he deep voice said.


	7. Chapter 7

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Chapter 7: You Should Have Made The Deal

**WASHINGTON, D.C.**

Emily hung up the phone from her husband. She wasn't happy with him, but she also knew something was going on, in fact, something had been going on for the last couple of weeks; he had been acting off…he wasn't her usual happy husband who came home every night. She had been worried about him, and although he kept saying he was fine she knew that wasn't true, but she didn't know how to fix it; he usually came to her and told her everything, but this was different…it was almost as if he was hiding something and that hurt her, he had never hidden anything from her, and the fact that he was doing it now made Emily mistrustful…she had never felt like that about her husband ever. Maybe she was looking too deeply into it, maybe he was just tired and when the case was over, he would come home and be himself again. Hopefully.

She finished up in the kitchen and came upstairs to put her baby girl to bed. Alana was already in her pajamas and waiting for her mom to tuck her in. Emily walked into her daughter's bedroom and saw Lanny on the carpet playing with her dolls.

"Ready for bed, my love?" Emily asked sweetly.

"I don't want to go to bed...I don't like sleeping." Lanny protested.

"You don't?" Emily asked, laughing while picking up her four year old. Alana shook her head and pouting at her mother.

"Well, you know you have to sleep if you want to grow." She pointed out, moving a strand of curls from her beautiful baby's face.

"I don't want to grow, I want to be little always...you like me little." Lanny protested, pleading.

"Nice try, ma'am, but it is bed time." She said smiling.

"Can I sleep in your bed, there are monsters under mine." Emily laughed again…she knew their kids didn't believe in monsters, they had raised them right, and on any other night, she would have told her that she needed to sleep in her own bed, tonight, however, she was willing to make an exception. She, herself, also needed to cuddle with someone, and Aaron wasn't home tonight.

"Monsters don't exist, missy, and you know it, but yes, you can sleep with mommy tonight." She said, kissing her daughter.

She turned off all the lights and walked to her own bedroom with her baby girl in her arms. She placed Lanny softly in her bed while she went to change into something comfortable, then she joined her daughter in bed. Lanny immediately cuddled in her mother's arms and they both got under the covers, and Emily smiled pulling her even closer to her. She was sad about what happened that morning Aaron, but having her daughter in her arms made the world so much better.

"Good night, my angel." She whispered, kissing her daughter and tracing patterns on the little girl's tummy.

"Mommy, I love you so very, very much from here to the universe and back." She said, opening her little arms as wide as she could.

"I love you more, monkey." She said, tickling her daughter as the little girl squealed and laughed.

"Sleep, my love, mommy has got you." She said, kissing her forehead.

Finally, the little girl closed her eyes and cuddled closer to her mom, holding her Frozen doll and relaxing in her mother's arms. Emily kept rubbing her stomach softly until the girl fell sleep. Emily had a very hard day today…she had argued again with her husband that morning, and then there was The Reaper case, but right now, holding her daughter in her arms was the only thing that gave her solace. She looked at the little girl sleeping peacefully in her arms and smiled…Alana was the most important thing in her life; Aaron was, too, of course, and Jack was important, but Alana was her first baby, she had carried her in her stomach for nine months and she had watched her come out of her body. Alana was her creation, her little gift sent straight from heaven to give her joy and happiness. She knew that she was lucky to have her, and to have Aaron, and despite their issues, he was amazing to her, and he was the most amazing husband in the world. Even when they had issues, they always found their way back to each other. She closed her eyes, hoping to fall sleep; she knew she would have a very long day tomorrow at the BAU, since they still hadn't caught The Reaper, and she wouldn't be able to rest in peace until he was locked down in a prison somewhere. Then, she would fix whatever was going on with her husband so her family could have their fairy tale life back again. She dozed off a few minutes later holding her baby girl tightly in her arms.

**Boston **

Aaron pulled his phone away from his ear, and he started going through the case again. When the phone in his hotel room rang, he was very surprised; nobody knew he was there, just the team and his wife. He had just hung up the phone with his wife, so there was no way it was her, and the team would not call him in his hotel room, they would call his cellphone. He stood up and went to pick up the phone.

"Hotchner." He answered.

At first, nobody answered, but he could hear the thick deep breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Who is this?" He asked.

"_If you stop hunting me, I will stop hunting them." _The deep voice said.

"Do you think I'm going to take that?" Hotch asked harshly.

"_It's a good deal, you should take it." _The voice said.

"I don't make deals, I'm the guy who hunts criminals like you." Aaron said angrily.

"_It's your last chance." _The voice warned.

"Go to hell!" Hotch said to the other person on the phone.

"_You will regret this." _The voice said.

"I'll see you soon." Hotch said, then he slammed down the phone.

Hotch was shaking mad, he wasn't going to play any games with The Reaper, and he didn't have time for this…he returned to his files angrily. He began going through the profile again, although he had gone over it over and over before, he had to get this guy, he had to get him before he hurt more people, he wasn't going to let him get away with this, not this time…he wasn't going to negotiate with him again. Hotch was going to do everything in his power to put him behind bars.

About one hour after the call, Hotch was still in his hotel room going over the case files when his cellphone rang again. This time it was Sergeant O'Mara.

"Hotchner." He answered in a worried voice.

"Agent Hotchner, there has been another murder. You need to get here immediately." O'Mara stressed.

A few minutes later, Hotch arrived at the crime scene with Dave and Morgan. They discovered a bus had been attacked and 20 people had been murdered. Hotch walked inside the bus where all the victims still lay in pools of blood where most of them had been shot, although some had their throats slashed and a few others had been stabbed. It was mind-numbingly horrible, it was one of the most impacting spree murders he had ever investigated. There was no rhyme nor reason to the victims…they were from all ages and walks of life. They probably lead a normal life, and now it was over, and it was all his fault. He had defied The Reaper, he had hung up the phone on him, and now The Reaper had gone after a busload of victims…not just a couple…he had killed a bus full of people just because Hotch had not made the deal. The forensic examiners, along with the evidence team, was covering the bodies and taking them into the trucks; this was so devastating, he had seen so many people murdered in all his years of law enforcement work, and he had stood toe to toe with the most horrific killers, and he thought he had seen it all, but this ...this was just too much. SOME HOW, SOME WAY, THE HAD TO GET HIM!

"There is Diane Lannesa's wedding ring." Dave pointed out, but Hotch seemed to be absent.

"What did he take?" Dave asked again. Hotch didn't respond…he walked past Dave and got out of the bus going to the alley. Hotch then began throwing up, something he had never done on a case, but he couldn't contain himself, this was just too much. Dave approached him and handed him his handkerchief so he could wipe his face. Hotch stood up, but he couldn't face his friend.

"What the hell is the matter with you, I've never seen you like this!" Dave asked, terrified; he truly had never see Hotch act like this.

"The Reaper called me tonight at the hotel...he offered me the same deal he offered Shaunessy." Aaron replied in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Dave queried, watching how affected his friend was.

"I hung up on him, and then he does this." Dave could see the tears forming in his best friend's eyes.

"Oh, so you think this is your fault?" Dave asked angrily.

"It is, Dave, I should have taken the deal." Hotch said, as a few tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

"No, no, Aaron, you can't be serious, we don't negotiate with serial killers." Dave said firmly.

"But, if I had taken the deal, he wouldn't have kill them." Hotch started again…

"You can't seriously be making this about you. There are twenty people murdered out there, and you are out here feeling pity for yourself?" Dave needed to say something that could make his friend not feel guilty.

"I'm not feeling pity, I just..." But, he couldn't continue speaking.

"You know what, Aaron, if you want to end up like Gideon or Shaunessy feeling sorry and blaming yourself for everything, you go ahead, but that voice in your head is not your conscience it is your ego!" Dave said harshly.

"We can do this job without you, if you can't do it, and if you're going to let him win..." Dave added, looking at his friend intensely.

Sergeant O'Mara approached them again, handing them another message. This time it was just a simple piece of paper with the Eye of Providence drawn in blood with a short message.

"_You should have taken the deal..."_

Both profilers read the message, and Aaron turned to look at Dave, knowing that his friend was right. The Reaper was trying to manipulate him; he was trying to bring him into his game. He wouldn't let that happen, he just couldn't.

"Let's go back to the office." He told Dave, and both profilers walked away from the crime scene, heading to the Boston Office. Aaron was so mad, but he couldn't erase the images of all those people lying in a pool of blood on the bus; he couldn't erase those faces, he would never be able to, no matter what Dave said, he would still feel guilty. He could have saved all those people, but Dave was right about something, he couldn't negotiate with a murdered man. No matter what he had to do, he would get The Reaper even if it cost him his own life.

**Washington D.C **

Emily walked into the bullpen a little bit earlier than usual. She had dropped Alana off at school a little early because Garcia had texted her to get to the office as soon as possible. She placed her bag in her desk drawer and made her way to the blonde's office. When she opened the door, the image in front of her caught her off guard. Every single screen in the office had different images of murdered people on them; there were at least a dozen or more faces on the screens, and Garcia was typing as fast as her fingers allowed her, and all her computers seemed to be processing information like they were on the NASA screens or something.

"What the hell is going on?" Emily asked in shock.

"The Reaper stroke again...he murdered a bus` full of people...twenty victims total."-Garcia said, Emily could her the tears on her voice, she look at the screens again, this was going to be on national news, this was one of the biggest mass murders in the history of Boston; The Reaper had killed many people but not that many at the same time. Emily's heart started beating a hundred beats per minute. This was bad, and if she was correct, this was just about to get worse.

"Why...what happened, Garcia?" Emily questioned sadly. Garcia turned to look at her, with her eyes full of tears looking very uncomfortably at Emily…Emily knew that Garcia hated to see people dead, and these types of images, not to mention twenty people killed all at once were just overwhelming to her.

"He...he...he called our bossman and offered him the same deal he offered Shaunessy and our brave bossman...he hung up on him, and then...he did this!" Garcia said, as a tear rolled down her cheeks. Emily's mouth dropped.

"Oh my God, is he okay? Is Aar..is Hotch okay?" Emily suddenly forgot how angry she was at him, she was just worried about him.

"Will you be okay?" Garcia asked sadly. Emily just nodded, she knew this was bad and she wanted to be there for him, for him and the team. She needed to know he was okay, if The Reaper had dared to kill that many people at once, he wouldn't care, that meant the team was also at danger, her husband too. She wiped away the tears that had formed in her own eyes, and she quickly sat down next to the technical analyst.

"What do you need, what can I do?" Emily asked, desperate to do something to help.

"Here, take these two screens, let's find anything that can be connected to The Reaper... friends, aliases, anything...we need to find him, and we need to do it soon." The blonde ordered, Emily nodded and began going through the data base.

Emily worked on the database as fast as she could; after a while, when she was finally able to excuse herself to go the bathroom, she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket. She dialed the number, knowing it wasn't right, but she had to talk to Aaron. The phone rang a couple of times, and then the raspy voice answered.

"Hotchner." Hotch was so concentrated on the crime scene that he had not paid attention to whom was calling.

"Are...are you...are you okay?" The crying voice of his wife came on the line.

"Emily?" He asked with concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked again, she knew about the murders by now.

"We're headed back to the Police Department now." Hotch said, without knowing what else to say.

"Let me come to Boston, please." She begged.

"NO!" He almost yelled.

"Aaron, please." Emily begged, and started sobbing on the phone.

"No, Emily." He said again, more than a scream, it was a plea; his voice creaked, too, and Emily could hear it.

"I want to be there for you, I want to help, please, Aaron. I don't want you to do this alone." She insisted, as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"If you want to help, please stay home with Lanny, please, Emily." Emily could hear his tone, he was almost crying too.

"If something happens…" She started, but he cut her off.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, I need you to understand, and I need you to do as I say, please." Aaron wanted nothing more, at that time, than to hold her in his arms.

"Okay, please be safe." She couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face, as Aaron hung up the phone, and she stood there in the bathroom. Staring at her cellphone, Emily just couldn't understand why Aaron didn't let her come to Boston to help them, but she knew she wasn't going to feel better until the whole team was safe back home, until he was safe at home and in her arms again. She wiped her eyes and returned to the room Garcia and her were working from.

A few hours later, Aaron called the BAU again while the team had been sitting at the Boston Police Department going over the profile as well as everything else they could get their hands on.

"What can I do boss?" Garcia asked nervously when she appeared on their screens.

"Garcia, have you guys found anything else on The Reaper?" Hotch asked. Emily finally looked at her husband, and she saw that he looked like he had not slept in days and that make her sad, she wished she could be there for him.

"Nothing, boss, after Shaunessy made the deal with him, he disappeared, nothing, there are no more killings. I have no way to track his past." Garcia said, defeated.

"We need to find him, baby girl, we need something." Morgan begged.

"We need to know why he left Foyet's glasses at the crime scene, and why he is so interested in him." Reid questioned.

"Maybe control, to make him feel he was after him?" JJ pointed out.

"But, he would have killed him already, why wait?" Dave said.

"There's something we're missing here." Hotch said angrily, banging his fist on the desk. Everyone jumped, but they knew he had reasons to be angry.

"What about his girlfriend, Amanda Bertrand, why did The Reaper kill them?" Emily asked.

"She came here from Michigan, and she met Foyet at school. He was a teacher's assistant in one of her classes." JJ responded.

"Wait, wasn't it Michigan where The Reaper had Shaunessy post the ad." Morgan asked, looking at the paper.

"Foyet said he was in love with her, and he was going to propose to her that night." Dave replied.

"She had been in the class for only four weeks, and he fell in love with her and was going to propose to her that fast?" Emily questioned.

"Garcia, look up Foyet's aliases in Boston, and check on the Department of Education." Hotch ordered.

"All Foyet's aliases show him as working for the Department of Education as a substitute teacher, and, oh no, they all got fired for inappropriate behavior with young girls." Garcia said.

Hotch closed his eyes and tried to connect everything together, and suddenly it hit him, it all made sense, that was why they couldn't find him, they never thought of Foyet as other than a victim.

"Oh no." Hotch said, quickly standing up from the desk.

"Garcia, locate Foyet's cellphone, NOW, George Foyet is The Reaper!" He said, walking out from the conference room where the team was working, the team following after him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Deal With The Devil**

Chapter 8: Face to Face

Hotch closed his eyes trying to connect everything together, when suddenly it hit him...it all made sense, that was why they couldn't find him...they had never thought of Foyet as anything other than a victim.

"Oh no!" Hotch exclaimed, quickly standing up from the desk.

"Garcia, locate Foyet's cellphone, NOW...George Foyet is The Reaper!" He said, walking out from the conference room where the team was working, the team following after him.

Garcia located Foyet's cellphone...it was a different address under one of Foyet's aliases. She had also located Roy Colson's cellphone at the same location, but it was at least thirty minutes away from Boston, and they knew they had to get there as soon as possible. Even though they knew they would never make it in time to save Roy Colson, they had to try. The team rushed into the SUVs, Hotch driving with Dave and Reid and Morgan rode with Sergeant O'Mara in a different car. Other law enforcement officers were sent there as well.

Hotch was driving as fast as he was allowed to drive; he had to get Foyet, he just had to, he should have realized this before, he should have known better, all of this was his fault and he knew it. He knew the profile better than any of his team because he had worked on it for at least ten years. During that time, he had worked on other cases, of course, active cases, but for some reason, this case stuck in his mind. He knew everything there was to know to find and prosecute Foyet, and yet, he didn't see it until it was too late. Now, twenty-four people were dead because of him, and no matter what Dave said to him, he knew it was all his fault...he just knew it. Everything now made sense...that was why they had never found him. No one had ever considered Foyet because they had always considered he was a victim, but now that he had put the pieces together, it made perfect sense. Foyet had disappeared after his deal with Shaunessy, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to appear as the victim rather than the serial killer he was.

"Foyet called the police and told them about the murders, and then he returned and inflicted the wounds on himself because he knew the paramedics would be there on time, but why would he do that, he could have died, too?" Reid asked while they were inside the car.

"No, he was too smart, he figured enough time for the EMTs to get there...he had it all planned out. With the severity of the wounds, we never considered him a suspect, and that was his plan...I should have known this...I should have seen it." Hotch responded angrily.

"Aaron." Dave started, but Hotch cut him off, he knew Dave was going to try to convince him otherwise.

"No, Dave, it's true, everything we had came from us, I had the profile, and I should have seen the signs. He left his own glasses at the crime scene which pointed me back to his direction, and I didn't see it, this is all my fault." Aaron added harshly.

Dave just looked at Hotch. He felt like punching him in the face and making him see that this wasn't Hotch's fault, none of it was, but he didn't want to say anything in front of Reid. He decided he would talk to him once the case was over and they were alone. For now, he would just worry about getting Foyet.

They arrived at the location of the address they had of Foyet and where Roy Colson's cellphone was shown, with all law enforcement officers surrounding the property, Morgan and Sergeant O'Mara went to the back of the building, and Hotch, Reid and Dave took the front of the house. Hotch and Dave got in through the kitchen door which happened to be open. They could hear Foyet still talking to Colson, which meant he hadn't killed him, and that filled Hotch with relief.

Foyet was arguing with Roy Colson because he wanted him to change the story he had initially written in his book, i.e., he wanted him to tell everyone he had not died like Colson had written in his book. He wanted him to write about the deal he had made with Shaunessy, and he wanted all the murders to be published in the book.

"Stop, please, I'll do anything you say!" Colson cried, as Foyet held a gun to his head.

"Shut up and write, or I'll kill you." Foyet said maliciously.

"If you kill him, I'll kill you." Hotch said, pointing his gun at Foyet as he slowly walked into the kitchen, his eyes on Foyet all the time.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to join our party, Agent Hotchner." Foyet said, smiling evilly at Hotch.

"Drop your weapon." Hotch warned.

"Oh, you know what else you should write in your book...how those poor twenty victims died because of Agent Hotchner's inflated ego." Foyet laughed again, maniacally.

"That was your choice not mine, you're the serial killer." Hotch said strongly, feeling the anger building up.

"You could have saved them if you'd considered my deal, but you think you're so bad ass, so people had to be punished for your arrogance." Foyet told Hotch, glaring at him.

"Drop your weapon." Hotch warned again; by now, five guns were pointed at him, and Foyet just laughed, he wasn't afraid of the five law enforcement offices that were waiting for a chance to kill him.

"I'm not afraid of you...I'm not afraid to die." He smiled again.

"If you die, you won't enjoy the recognition for the murders you did, you're greedy and narcissistic, you want that, you won't be able to enjoy it if you die." Hotch told him.

Foyet finally laid the weapon down, and Sergeant O'Mara and Morgan proceeded to arrest him; they put the handcuffs on him, and just as they were going to take him to the car, Foyet turned to look at Hotch again and said:

"You know this isn't over, Agent Hotchner, you will regret this for the rest of your life, I'll be back, and I'll be bigger than Bundy." Hotch turned around to look at him. Hotch wanted to beat the hell out of him, but he knew he couldn't.

"Take him to the car!" He ordered angrily.

"See you soon, Agent Hotchner." Foyet started to laugh maniacally again, but he was taken to the patrol car. He was laughing the entire time, and that made Hotch's blood boil with anger. But, pulling himself together, Hotch made himself realize this was over, Foyet was going to be taken to prison where he would spend the rest of his life and Hotch was going home to his family where he could finally mend the rift between him and Emily. This nightmare was over…they had caught the bad guy, and now it was time to go home.

The team returned to the police station, picked up all their belongings and cleaned the area where they had been working. They had done their job, and it was time for everyone to go home. Hotch said his goodbyes to Sergeant O'Mara after they thanked him for the help and for getting The Reaper and closing the case. After that, they left, they wanted to make it home as soon as possible.

Everyone took their usual places on the plane; Hotch, however, took a corner seat because it was only one seat, and he sat there quietly. JJ, Morgan and Reid soon fell asleep…it had been a very long couple of days. Dave, however, realized Hotch was acting a little weird; he knew how much this case had bothered him, and he wanted to talk to him now that they had some alone time.

"You know we did a great job...we got the job done...you should be happy." Dave said when he finally got Hotch's attention.

"I just keep thinking if I had known better, none of the murders..." Dave held his hand up to stop him from talking.

"Stop! You are going to have to let this go." Dave stated firmly.

"You did the right thing, we don't let them get away with things...we're just guys doing our jobs. That's why we profile them, Aaron, they are the serial killers." Dave added.

Aaron just looked at him without being able to respond.

"Go home to your beautiful wife and kids...those are the things that truly matter in life." He said smiling. Aaron smiled, too. He definitely needed to go home and mend fences with his wife.

"You have to let this go…it's over." Dave said, more firmly this time. Aaron nodded and looked away.

When the team arrived back at Quantico, everyone gathered at their desks for a few minutes, and Aaron dropped the files at his desk, made a few calls and then headed to the exit. He had given the team the next day off; they all deserved the time, and he certainly did. This had been a very disturbing and exhausting case, and they all needed some away time.

"Have a good night, everyone." He told the team.

"Hey, Hotch, we're going for a few beers, man, do you want to join?" Morgan asked.

"I think I'm just going to head home, Emily and the kid are waiting for me, but have fun guys." He said, smiling and walking out the doors.

He drove home slowly, he was tired and his head still hurt, but Dave was right, he wasn't going to let Foyet get under his skin…he had to let this go. He had to talk with Emily and make things right with her, and that was all that mattered. He had called her from the plane telling her they had caught Foyet, and that he would be home that night. Emily was happy, of course, and relieved he was coming home, but he knew they still needed to talk. He had to apologize about his behavior towards her and give her an explanation as to why he hadn't let her come on the case.

He arrived home a little later, after he had stopped at the store to get two huge bouquets of roses. Aaron knew that wasn't going to make things right, but he needed to start somewhere to begin to make her happy again, and flowers were always a huge plus for apologies, the other bouquet was for his daughter. He opened the door at his home, walking into the foyer placing his briefcase by the door, and letting the warm smell of his home quickly embrace him.

Emily and Alana where in the kitchen finishing the little girl's homework and getting her backpack ready for next day. As soon as Lanny heard the door, her beautiful face lit up.

"Daddy..." She cried, looking at Emily ecstatically. Emily just nodded and smiled at the sight of her daughter getting so excited because her dad was home. Lanny bounced off the chair she was sitting on and ran toward the door with Emily following closely after her. Aaron heard her little feet approaching, and he smiled as he saw his little girl running toward him. _He was finally home._

"Daddy...daddy." Lanny screamed happily, jumping into her daddy's arms. Aaron smiled widely while he caught his precious little girl in his arms, hugging her really tightly.

"Hello, my beautiful princess." He said, kissing her. Lanny smiled at her daddy then her eyes fell on the flowers he had in his hands.

"Who are those for?" She asked curiously.

Aaron smiled and placed his daughter on the floor again.

"Well, these are for the beautiful princess of the house." He said, handing Lanny the pink and white roses.

"They are so pretty, daddy, I love you." He kissed his little girl again while Emily watched them from the kitchen door frame with her arms crossed. She couldn't stop the big grin that was on her face.

"What about the other ones?" Lanny asked pointing at the red roses.

"These are for the queen of the house." He said, looking at his wife. Emily gave him a short smile and rolled her eyes. He approached her and pulled her in his arms, Emily smelled his manly scent and hugged him tightly. She was so happy that he was finally home and in her arms, they still needed to talk but she was so happy he was safely back in her arms.

"Welcome home, daddy." Emily told Aaron, and he smiled at her. They would have their talk once Alana was in bed, but for now, he was happy that he was back with his family.

"I was just about to put Lanny to bed…do you want to help me, then change while I warm your dinner?" Emily asked him.

"I'm not hungry, baby, I..." But, she shot him a scolding look, and he stopped.

"Yes, ma'am, I will." He said, looking at his beautiful wife as she walked into the kitchen. God, even when she was mad she was sexy as hell. He smiled again as he picked up Lanny.

"Let's say good night to mommy, okay, sweetheart?" Lanny nodded, happy that it was her daddy who was the one who was going to tuck her in tonight.

"Good night, mommy." Lanny said, when Aaron walked back into the kitchen with her.

"Good night, my love." Emily replied and leaned over to kiss her daughter.

"What about me, don't I get a kiss?" Aaron asked, teasing her, he knew she was still a little unhappy with him, but he couldn't resist teasing her. Emily glared at him, but he couldn't resist smiling widely.

"Yeah, mommy, give daddy a kiss, too." And Lanny applauded happily when she did.

Emily looked at Aaron with piercing brown eyes, but she leaned over to kiss her husband's cheek, which he quickly moved his face around to capture her mouth, kissing her deeply for a second. They pulled away, and he was smiling. Emily rolled her eyes at him again and sent him a look that was half anger, half desire and love.

He walked out of the kitchen to put his daughter to bed; they walked into her room and after he put her flowers in a vase on her nightstand, Aaron read her a story and watched his little girl fall sleep. He then went to take a quick shower and changed into sweat pants and his FBI academy t-shirt. Meanwhile, Emily was downstairs warming his dinner. She, too, put her flowers in water and smiled widely to herself while brushing her fingers on the petals. Even if she was angry she was still going to read him the riot act as soon as he was back downstairs. She did love the kind of little things he did for her. He always was so romantic, and he always found exactly the right way to make her smile and mend her feelings, no matter what.

Aaron came downstairs and watched his wife clearing some plates by the sink, and his eyes landed on her ass. She had the finest ass...she was absolutely the most beautiful woman in earth. He walked forward into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her to him and kissing her neck. Emily smiled for a second when she felt her husband's arms around her, she grasped his arms while he placed kisses on her neck.

"Don't Aaron, kisses aren't going to do, I'm still angry with you." She said softly. She wasn't mad though, well, she was, but more than angry, she was worried.

"I know, baby...I know...we have to talk."

She turned around in his arms and looked at him again, they needed to talk, she knew it, but she had to feed him first.

"Eat your dinner first, then we can talk, and don't give me that bullshit that you're not hungry, because I'm serving you a double portion tonight." She ordered.

"Yes, ma'am, I will do anything you want." He said, looking at her softly and smiling.

She nodded and he sat down on the kitchen stool while Emily served dinner for him and something to drink then, she sat next to him on the other stool. They talked about their kids while Aaron was eating, then they talked about how the team had apprehended Foyet. Emily served him another portion of dinner, and he knew there was no way he was going to fight her on that, so he proceeded to work on his second portions, giving her a few bites every now and then, feeding her, too, which she ate without complaint.

He ate as much as he could from his second plate, and when he was full, Emily took the plate from him serving him a cup of hot tea and getting one for herself, sitting back down next to him, both knowing it was time to talk.

"Emily, sweetheart, I know you're not happy with me..." He started.

"Just tell me why?" She interrupted a little angrily, and she didn't need to clarify what the 'why' meant he knew it very well.

"I had to keep you safe. I know you don't understand it, but I had to protect you." He explained, looking deeply into her beautiful brown eyes. Emily was going to say something, but he stopped her.

"No, Emily...nothing that you say is going to change my mind. Foyet made a deal with Shaunessy just for the hell of watching his life fall apart. He watched him for years and stalked him, he watched his family." He explained.

"I couldn't, I couldn't let him associate you with me...I had to keep you away. I had to protect you." Aaron tried to explain his reasoning to Emily.

"You think that's fair for the rest of the team that aren't married to you?" She questioned angrily.

"God, Aaron, you're always telling me that you have to be fair, that you can't show favoritism at work with me, aren't your actions a little hypocritical?" He looked away for a second.

"I had to protect you, Em." He tried to explain again.

"No, Aaron, don't give me that, I'm a trained FBI agent. You can't put me in a bubble every time there is danger, it's not fair to the team, or to me. That isn't an ethical decision." She said, standing up from the stool and crossing her arms.

"Emily, I know you're a trained agent and a very one; hell, you have even better instincts than me." He defended. "Do you remember the compound with Cyrus? Do you remember Milwaukee?" He said, standing up too and looking at her sternly.

"Back in those days I didn't say anything to you, even though I almost lost you."

"But right now, things are different. You have a daughter that needs you more than I do. Have you considered what would happen to Alana is something happens to you? I know you are a badass superior agent, but you are a mother first." He told her firmly. She stood there looking at him without knowing what to say because he was so right about that.

"We made a promise, Emily, you were going to stay back at Quantico…you do remember that, don't you?" He questioned. She nodded and looked away from him unable to hold his firm stare any longer, but he placed his fingers softly on her chin bringing her eyes to look at him.

"I know you're mad and hurt, and you may be right about my actions not being ethical, but, in that moment, I had to do everything I could to protect you and my family. That's my job, Emily, I'm the man of this house." He said softly.

"I'm so sorry about the way I talked to you, but I need you to understand something." He said, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Here in this house you are the boss, everything is done your way and your wishes are my command." He spoke softly.

"But, at work, I'm still your boss, and I need you to respect that and not defy me when I give you an order, especially not in front of the team." He told her in a very serious tone.

"You are right, and I'm very sorry I did that." Emily said simply.

He pulled her closer and captured her mouth softly. Emily let him kiss her, and soon he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry." Aaron said, when they pulled apart as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, too." She said, kissing him again, deeper this time. He smiled and hugged her even tighter. She finally look at him smiling and content that he was in her arms.

"Let's go to bed, okay, baby." He said, smiling at her widely. She nodded as she put the tea cups away.

He pulled her in for another hug, and they were about to walk out of the kitchen with their arms around each other when his cellphone rang.

"It's Dave." He said, looking at the screen seriously. Dave knew that he was going to try and settle things with Emily that night, so Aaron knew Dave would never call unless it was urgent.

"Dave wouldn't call this late unless it was important, I have to answer." He told her, Emily just nodded, she also knew that.

"Hey, Dave, what's up?" He greeted when he answered.

_"Aaron, Foyet escaped __prison..."_


	9. Chapter 9

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 9: Complications and Old Sparks

It had been a couple of weeks since Foyet had escaped, and Hotch was more stressed and paranoid than he had ever been in his entire life...what was worse, he was in a complete quandary. He had spent the last few weeks in his office trying to work on Foyet's files trying to see what he missed, what he hadn't seen. He went over the profile so many times the words were running together, and he couldn't understand how Foyet had managed to escape prison. Hotch had come home one night thinking he had put another criminal in jail, that everything was fine, he could finally move on with his life and make amends with his wife, so he came home and talked to his beautiful wife and finally settled things with her. His life was back on track again. Hotch was absolutely sure the nightmare that had been haunting him for the last few weeks was over and he could finally have his happy life back; however, that was over within one hour, when Dave called him to tell him Foyet had escaped.

Flashback:

_Hotch had been talking to his wife for the last hour, explaining the reasons why he had not let her participate in the case, and they had finally made up. She was in his arms and they were holding each other for dear life, kissing softly and passionately. _

"_I'm sorry." Aaron said, when they pulled apart as he looked deeply into her eyes._

"_I'm sorry, too." She__said, kissing him again, deeper this time. He smiled and hugged her even tighter.__ She finally looked at him smiling and content that he was in her arms._

"_Let's go__to bed, okay, baby." He said, smiling at her widely. She nodded as she put the tea cups away._

_He pulled her in for another hug, and__they were__about to walk out of the kitchen with their arms around each other when his cellphone rang._

"_It's Dave." He said, looking at the screen seriously. Dave knew that he was going to try and settle things with Emily that night, so Aaron knew Dave would never call unless it was urgent._

"_Dave wouldn't call this late unless it was important, I__have to answer." He told her, Emily just nodded, she also knew that._

"_Hey, Dave, what's up?" He greeted when he answered. _

_"Aaron, Foyet escaped__prison..."__ – Hotch's mouth dropped open, his heart stopped beating and he couldn't process anymore._

"_What?" -He asked aghast._

"_The guards found him in his cell vomiting blood...and convulsing." -He listened as Dave explained. His wife was looking at him very concerned, especially since he had turned very pale, and she was absolutely sure it was bad news._

"_What is going on?" -She asked, concerned, but Hotch didn't respond...he just put his phone on speaker. _

"_He was rushed to the prison hospital...he escaped there?" -Dave finished. Emily opened her mouth in shock as she watched her husband's expressions turn into horrifying worry._

"_Have you talked to the U.S. Marshals Office?" -Hotch asked, with his mouth dry. _

"_Yes, I offered our help, but there's nothing we can do, Aaron." -Dave said, very concerned._

"_Dave, I don't understand...I..." -Hotch just couldn't even comprehend how he had managed to escaped._

"_They have already been to his old place, they found schematics for every jail, prison and court house in Boston, Virginia and D.C." -Dave explained, astonished._

"_And ten years to plan." -Aaron finished, closing his eyes._

"_It's okay, Aaron, we'll find him." -Dave said in a comforting tone._

"_No, we're not, he told me he would be back, and he was right." -Hotch said, hanging up the phone. But, he was right...with Foyet out there; he knew very well his nightmare had just started._

End flashback.

So, Hotch had spent every single minute he had trying to find a clue that led him to where Foyet could have gone to, he had to get him, he had to find him...not just because he was a threat to society, but because he was a threat to him and his family. With Foyet out of prison, his family was in more danger than they had ever been in. Hotch knew perfectly well Foyet would want retaliation against him for not making the deal with him, and he was absolutely sure that he would try to target Hotch's family first if he found out about them and where they were, so he had become even more than obsessed with the case. Foyet didn't know about his family yet, but he was sure if he found out about them, he would target his family immediately just to hurt Hotch. Now, even when he was at home, he spent every possible minute he had free trying to track Foyet.

This was, of course, creating a lot of trouble for him not only at work, but also with his wife and family. He had been spending way too much time in his office at home going over the case and analyzing the profile, so much so to the point that he almost lived in his office. That had, of course, brought on another big fight between him and the beautiful brunette, who had already been mad at him prior to Foyet's escape. Emily kept saying that he needed to get over this case, that everyone believed that the escape of Foyet had been very tragic and unfortunate, but they also believed he wasn't going to dare strike and kill again, especially not when every single police department in the country was on high alert in the search for him. Everyone was absolutely certain Foyet was going to simply disappear and never return, and they believed it was time for Hotch to let go of this case and focus on other, active cases. The team told Hotch that there was nothing else he could do, he had done his job, and now this was not up to him. The case was no longer in his hands since it had been turned over to the State Department who was now handling the case, and Hotch had to simply let it go, and let them do their job and he needed to focus on his own job.

One night, when Emily had once again found him in his office with his desk covered in tons of files with the Foyet case, the couple ended up having another argument, which upset Hotch so much because he had never fought with Emily so much. In fact, they had more arguments in the last couple of weeks than they had in their entire time together including their married life.

Flashback_._

_Hotch was sitting at his desk organizing some information about Foyet that he had obtained from an old friend in New York to add to what he already had. He was just finishing the files when his wife walked into his office; they were supposed to be taking the kids to the park and spending the day together, however, he had been in his office half the morning._

"_Hey, we're ready to go to the park, what's holding you up?" -Emily asked when she walked in. Her eyes immediately landed on the files which were all over his desk and all over the floor, all containing the same picture...Foyet._

"_I'm sorry, honey, I lost track of time, let's go." -He said, standing up from his desk. Emily glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest angrily._

"_I thought this was over." -She said with piercing eyes._

"_It is, I'm just curious." -He said, he could tell Emily was starting to get very angry about this situation._

"_Curious about what, Aaron, the BAU isn't working on this case anymore." -She said, looking at him exasperated._

_"I just keep thinking that there must be something we're missing, something that can lead us to find him." -He told her, trying to calm her down._

"_You need to let this go, you told me you would." -She snapped._

"_Emily, I...know I just need to work on a few things on these files, then I will put it away, I promise." -He said, looking in her dark fiery eyes._

"_What things, Aaron? You have gone through these freaking files so many times you probably have them memorized by now!" -She said, raising her voice angrily._

"_Baby, please, don't get mad, I just have to add a couple more files, then I'll put them away."_

"_The case is over, Aaron, there is nothing you can add, you need to LET IT GO!" -She screamed furiously._

"_Emily, please." -He tried to explain again._

"_You know what, stay here, I don't care, do whatever the hell you want! I'm leaving with the kids." -She said and stormed out of his office, slamming the door. _

_He looked at the door from which his wife had just walked and knew he needed to work this somewhere else. He couldn't do it home anymore; he had to find a way to work on this case without Emily knowing about it. _

End flashback

Aaron knew he had to take his investigation somewhere else that wasn't his house. He was going to cause a serious rift between him and Emily if he didn't stop working so much at home because it was taking so much time away from her and the kids, and he couldn't risk doing that to them. He needed to be there for them. But, he also needed to catch Foyet. And he couldn't do that if he didn't continue to develop his leads and look at the profile and he had to do it somewhere. Hell, even Dave, his best friend thought everyone was right and that he should let it go...he told Hotch that they would get Foyet eventually, and he had to focus on other things, including his family; Dave also told him that they would have more bad guys to catch, and that everyone's life should go back to normal. He told him if he didn't let this go, he was going to fuck things up really badly with Emily, and Hotch knew Dave was right about that, too.

So, Hotch had decided to take matters into his own hands and decided to investigate and find Foyet completely alone...well, not completely alone...he had actually contacted an old friend, Kate Joyner, whom he had worked a couple of cases with when he was a prosecutor, and he had also liaised with her when she was at Scotland Yard. Kate had also been the Chief of Police in Richmond Virginia, and the team had worked a couple of cases with her a few years back before Emily joined the team. Hotch had contacted her because he knew she was a very good investigator, one of the best ones he had ever worked with, and rumor was that Foyet had headed that way.

His first instinct was to call Kate and ask her for help because he knew she would keep that quiet and help him without hesitation, and he had no one else to go to. Kate was one of his very good friends when he was a prosecutor, in fact, they had been very close friends. He trusted Kate probably the same way he trusted Dave, and right now, he needed to go to someone that he could count on for their total discretion. He couldn't risk working on the case at his house anymore, after the fight he had with Emily. He had to talk with her again, but things weren't going well now. Emily was still very angry with him, and he couldn't blame her. They were trying to work things out, of course, because they loved each other so much, but things were still not completely settled between them just yet.

Kate had immediately agree to help him. She cared dearly for Hotch as a friend, and she knew he was a very good man, and she knew he was just trying to protect his family. They had remained friends over the years after his divorce from Haley, and after his marriage with Emily. Kate hadn't met Emily yet, but she had heard about Hotch's wedding. She had been out of the country when they were married and for a few years after that, so she had never really had a chance to meet the woman who had stolen her friend's heart, but she knew he was very happy with her and she hated to see anything happening to his beautiful family, so she was willing to do anything to help him get Foyet.

Kate also had many contacts outside of Virginia and many other states, and she could use those contacts to help him; she could also see how worried he was, and she didn't hesitate to jump in and help. So, a few days later, when the team was off call and in the office working on paperwork, Kate arrived at Quantico and met with Hotch in his office. Hotch explained to Kate everything he could think of about Foyet and the deal he made with Shaunessy and how he had tried to make a deal with Hotch, and that he, of course, had rejected. Hotch explained to her that he was very worried that Foyet was going to go after him and his family for not making that deal with him, and Kate promised him to do whatever possible she could do within her power to help him get Foyet. She could see how worried he was and how terrified he was just to think Foyet could hurt Emily and his children.

Although they both knew that Foyet had absolutely no idea of the existence of Hotch's family at the present time, they were sure it wouldn't take him long to figure it out, so they were both willing to do anything to put him behind bars. They had been in his office for a few hours, going over the case, and Kate told him she would go home and begin contacting a few people she knew that could help; she would gather as much information as she could about Foyet, and she would call Hotch back as soon as possible. She kept telling him that everything would be alright, and that they would get Foyet and things would go back to normal.

"Thank you very much for coming all the way here, Kate...you have no idea how much this means to me." -Hotch told her, standing up from his desk.

"Don't thank me, Aaron, you're my friend, that's what friends are for" -Kate told him in her thick accent. She, too, stood up approaching him and placing her hands on his shoulders in a comforting way.

"We will get him, Aaron, don't worry." -She said, smiling up at him. Hotch smiled back, feeling a little bit more relaxed now that Kate had promised to help him,

"I know, thank you so much." -He replied.

Just in that moment, Emily walked into his office to give him some paperwork. The image in front of her left her completely stunned...Kate's hands where still on Aaron's shoulders, and they were both smiling. She didn't know who the blonde woman was, but they seem to be in a very compromising position, and she didn't like that not even a little bit. Emily cleared her throat loudly and Hotch and Kate turned around.

"Emily." -Hotch said immediately...he knew things might have looked wrong to her, so he walked to his wife.

"Honey, this Kate Joyner, an old friend." -He told her, smiling a little uncomfortably. Emily just glared at him.

"Kate, this is my beautiful wife, Emily Hotchner." -He smiled, finally introducing his wife to his friend.

"Oh my God, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you." -Kate said, smiling and holding her hand out to the brunette. Emily, however, remained with her arms crossed over her chest, leaving the blonde woman with her hand in the air.

"I wish I could say the same." -Emily replied in a harsh tone. Aaron turned to look at his wife completely aghast, she had never acted like that with anyone in her life ever. Emily was the most polite and well-mannered person he knew. She came from a very good family, and she was raised to have excellent manners...he couldn't believe she was behaving that way.

"I have to get going, Aaron, we'll keep in touch," -Kate said, a little uncomfortably.

It was obvious that Emily had walked in on a very inappropriate time, and things might had looked wrong to her.

"Thank you so much for coming all the way here to help me, Kate." -Aaron said, looking at his wife with disbelief in his eyes.

"Of course, Aaron, have a good day. Emily, it was a pleasure." -Kate said, trying one more time to greet the brunette. Emily just nodded giving her cold look, and Kate walked out of the office and headed to the doors. When she was gone, Aaron turned to look at his wife with scorching eyes...he couldn't believe she had behaved like that to a complete stranger.

"That was absolutely uncalled for Emily." -He told her, looking at her seriously.

"Who the hell is she? Your girlfriend? After all, you've had her behind closed doors with the blinds drawn for hours. If she was just your friend, why didn't you discreetly call me up to your office and introduce me when she first got here?" -She responded, looking at him with question marks in her eyes.

"Emily, don't be like that, you don't even know her. " -He said in a reprimanding tone.

"And why don't I know of her, if she's such a good friend? She's obviously a good enough friend to put her hands on you when you don't like people to touch you. We've been married for several years now, shouldn't you have mentioned her if she's that close?" -Emily asked stonily.

"I'm going home." -She said, placing the files a little roughly in his hands and storming out of his office leaving Hotch astonished. She had never behaved like that in his life, and he couldn't believe it.


	10. Chapter 10

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 10: The War at Home

Emily was at home rushing her four year old to hurry up; Lanny was taking a lot of time gathering her things and packing. Aaron's mother was going to pick up the kids anytime now, and Lanny was taking her good ole time doing as her mother told her because she kept getting distracted by the television. Emily decided to go upstairs to see what was holding the little girl up so much, since Jack was already in the living room ready to go and just waiting for grandma. She walked into her daughter's room, and she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or be mad. Lanny was completely distracted by the television, and her hand was in her hair holding her pajamas that were supposed to be landing in the backpack on her bed; however, she was way too distracted to put them down completely. She had changed as Emily had told her, but she had only put on one sock and the other was in her other hand, her shoes were scattered in the room along with some other pieces of clothing.

"Lanny, you are not even ready." -Emily exclaimed in an exasperated voice.

"Look mommy, this is my favorite part of Frozen, Olaf is singing." -The little girl said, pointing to the television.

"Honey, grandma is almost here, you have watched that film a million times. Turn off the television, please." -Emily ordered, walking inside the room and picking up Lanny's clothing from the floor.

"May I take the movie to grandmas?" -Her daughter asked, looking at her mother with puppy dog eyes...with those eyes that made Emily melt, those beautiful eyes that stole Emily's heart four years ago.

"Fine, take it, just hurry up, please." -She said, rolling her eyes. Emily finished packing her daughter's things, then she picked her up sitting her on the bed and putting on the other sock and her shoes. Normally, she would have Alana dress herself because she had been able to for a long time now, but right now, Lanny really needed to hurry. She heard Lanny's grandma's car approaching outside on her driveway.

"Grandma is here." -She told her daughter with a smile on her face. Lanny jumped off the bed and started running downstairs forgetting her bag and her doll. Emily smiled rolling her eyes again and picking up her backpack and her Frozen doll, then she, too, followed after her daughter. She was walking down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Jack rushed to the door, and after asking who it was, he finally opened the door letting his grandma in. Both kids jumped in the older woman's arms as soon as she stepped in the threshold.

"GRANDMA!" -They yelled, hugging her tightly. Helen laughed and hugged the kids tightly, too.

"Hello, my loves." -Emily watched them and smiled widely in spite of herself. Her mother-in-law was an amazing person; she was always willing to help her out, and she adored the kids more than anything. That was why, once a month she took the kids...she usually said it was to give Emily and Aaron time off from the kids, so they could enjoy going out on a date and get some alone time...today, she decided to take the kids with her. Unfortunately, this time, Helen had no idea what was going on in the Hotchner household.

"Ready to have fun with grandma?" -Helen asked the two Hotchner kids.

"YES!" -The kids yelled ecstatically.

"Okay, why don't you go put your bags in the car while I say hi to mommy, then we can go." -She told the kids sweetly.

Both kids nodded and rushed to the car with their bags. Helen approached Emily smiling widely.

"Hello, darling." -She told Emily, hugging her tightly. Emily wanted to fall apart in Helen's arms. She trusted her a lot, and she knew she could tell Helen anything, but this was different...she couldn't talk about this especially since it involved Aaron.

"Helen, it's so nice to see you." -Emily said, trying to smile and look happy.

"Are you okay, darling, you look tired and off?" -She questioned, looking at Emily skeptically.

"I'm just tired, it's been a long week." -Emily lied.

"Oh, honey, you guys work way too much, maybe it's time for you and Aaron to take a vacation with the kids. Maybe we can all go together." -She suggested, Emily looked exhausted, and the circles under her eyes were very evident.

"That sounds so good, I'll talk to Aaron about it." -Emily replied as she smiled.

"Okay then, talk to him tonight, go out and have fun, guys, you both deserve it so much." -Helen said holding Emily's hands softly.

"Where is he taking you tonight anyway?" -Helen asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't know, I...we really haven't had time to discuss it. " -Emily told her a little nervously.

"Well, I'm sure wherever you guys go, you'll have an amazing time." -Helen smiled softly, and Emily nodded, faking a smile.

"We'll go ahead now so we can let you get ready." -She stated, hugging Emily again. Both women walked outside the house, and Emily went to say goodbye to her beautiful babies and pretended to be happy, although she felt like crying. When Helen finally left, Emily went inside her house feeling emptier and more alone than she had before Helen had taken the kids.

Things were really bad with her and Aaron, things had gone from bad to worse and she didn't know how to handle it anymore or what to do. For the last couple of weeks, he had been coming home very late, later than usual sometimes even past midnight, and it was happening almost every day now. Emily asked him repeatedly what was keeping him out so late, but he kept saying it was because of work, but she had to admit she didn't believe him. In fact, she didn't believe anything he said lately; she didn't know what had happened between them and she hated it, she had cried so many times over the last couple of days that she was sure she didn't had any more tears left.

She just felt Aaron was doing something behind her back and she knew it, but she didn't know what it was. She hated not trusting her husband, she hated the fact that her marriage was having so many issues; she thought everything was wonderful, and she was living a fairy tale, but all of a sudden that changed and her fairy tale got torn apart. Of course, she couldn't tell her mother-in-law. She didn't want to concern Helen with her problems, but there were no plans between her and Aaron to do anything that night, in fact, she was sure Aaron had forgotten about their monthly dates. Just like he had forgotten about many other things he did for her before, like leaving a rose on her desk every week, or sending her loving text messages, or leaving surprises all over the house for her to find like chocolates or a piece of jewelry. They didn't have breakfast anymore like they did every Sunday in bed together before the kids were up, they never talked anymore at night about their day, partly because he was never home anymore, and when he was, he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. Even when they were together intimately, which had been very rare for the last month, Aaron seemed to be somewhere else. They used to make love every night at least once, and then they would fall asleep in each other's arms. Over the last month, they had only been intimate a few times and even then, Aaron seemed to be completely in another world...or with someone else, which pained Emily even more, because as soon as he fell asleep, she would start crying. He seemed to be in outer space even when he was making love to her.

Emily couldn't handle the situation anymore, they had fought so much over the last month she was sick of it. She was tired of asking him what was wrong and getting "nothing" for an answer. She was tired of him avoiding her eyes when she asked him to tell her the truth. She was tired of him coming late home every night to just sleep, or to even not come home at all. Yeah, maybe that was why she was so upset right now, Aaron hadn't come home the night before, and she knew they were not on a case. Emily was furious when she woke up alone in her bed and Aaron wasn't there.

Flashback.

_Emily woke up that morning alone in her bed; she had fallen sleep crying again because she knew something was very wrong with her husband. She didn't know how long she had been crying, but at some point she had fallen asleep. It was now almost 6.30 in the morning, and her husband wasn't in her bed with her. She looked around and there weren't any signs that he had even come home alone. She quickly stood up and put her robe on, the window was somewhat open, and the cold coming through the window was the reason she had woken up. She stepped out of her room and went to look for her husband downstairs, maybe he had come home too late and he had fallen asleep in the living room or his office; she wanted to wake him up and get him in bed with her; even as mad as she was with him, she still loved him and wanted the warmth of his body in bed with her. _

_She went downstairs and checked everywhere, but her husband was nowhere to be found, not in the living room or the kitchen, or his office. She started feeling a knot in her stomach, and she couldn't stop the new tears that were running down her cheeks now. She finally opened the garage door to find the spot where his car usually was parked, and it was empty. She closed her eyes, and the tears started to run freely from her eyes...there must be another explanation for why he wasn't home. She went upstairs again and grabbed her cellphone. She had such a mixture of anger and worry at the same time, she was so furious at the fact he had not even had the decency to call her and tell her where he was, or tell her he wasn't coming home; another part of her was very worried, what if something had happened to him, he truly had never not come home unless he was on a case. Her heart started beating a thousand miles per hour as she dialed his number._

_Hotch woke up in his office with his head on his desk as his cellphone started ringing in his pocket. He had been working on the Foyet case all night, and he must have fallen asleep. Kate had called him the night before giving him a lead to help him find Foyet along with some other information she had for the case. He was so eager to find Foyet that he wanted to review the information as soon as possible, especially now that things were definitely bad with his wife at home. He needed to catch Foyet as soon as possible and repair the damage he had inflicted on his relationship with Emily and his family, or he was going to lose her and his children, and he just couldn't lose another family because of this job again. So, he had been working on the file until very late...he usually worked on the case once everyone was gone, so nobody would see he still was working on Foyet's case, since he had told everyone it was over, and he had let it go, especially to his wife, even though he knew he was lying to everyone. _

_Aaron usually worked in his office late at night, and when Kate had called him the night before telling him she might have found a lead to Foyet, he was there until very late hoping this would truly help him get Foyet and put the son of a bitch behind bars. Then he could finally get his life back...unfortunately, he must have fallen asleep, and he woke up to the sound of his cellphone ringing, and he quickly looked at his watch, seeing it was about 6.30 in the morning. Aaron grabbed his ringing cellphone from his packet, and his heart dropped when he realized it was his wife calling. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he was in very deep shit!_

"_Hello." He answered in a sleepy and scared voice._

"_Its 6.30 in the morning, where the hell are you?" -Emily said angrily, but he could still hear the tears in her voice._

"_I'm still at work, sweetheart...I'm so sorry...I was working late on some stuff Strauss asked me to, and I lost track of time, I fell asleep, I'm so, so sorry." -Aaron said, pleading with his wife._

"_And you couldn't call me to tell me you were going to be late?" -Emily asked indignantly, but relieved that he was fine and nothing had happened to him._

"_I'm so sorry, baby, please forgive me, I should have called you, I really did lose track of time." -He apologized again._

"_I have to go. I have to get the kids ready for school." -She said, slamming down the phone on him angrily._

_Aaron ran his hand through his hair exasperatedly. He knew Emily was beyond furious, and he had to do something, things were already bad between them. God, he had to talk to her to make her understand, he would have to find a way to repair things between them...maybe tonight. His mother was supposed to take the kids for the weekend, maybe he could use that time to talk to Emily...yeah, that was it, he would go home later today and talk to his wife, then he would take her to a really nice dinner, or wherever she wanted to go, and he would talk to her. Aaron would do anything in his power to make this up to her. For now, he had to get ready for the day; he realized he no longer had time to go home and change; he decided he would take a shower at Quantico and change there. Kate was supposed to come in later with some more information she had that was important to help find Foyet._

End flashback

Emily watched as Helen left with her kids, and she wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She had to get away from the house, or she was going to go crazy. Since there were no plans with Aaron that night, and she was absolutely sure he had forgotten, and he probably didn't care anymore about their monthly dates, she decided she wasn't going to spend the time home crying and waiting for him to come home. She pulled her cellphone out of her jeans and dialed a number.

"Hello?" -The blonde woman answered.

"I think we should have a ladies night." -Emily rushed to say without hesitation.

"Emily!" -JJ shouted in shock.

"No, it's your mother, of course, it's Emily." -She replied sarcastically. The blonde just laughed on the phone.

"Oh, hi mom, isn't it odd that you're inviting your own daughter out to drink alcoholic beverages?" -The blonde joked around with Emily.

"Come on, JJ, I'm being serious!" -Emily whined exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay, relax, that sounds good to me, but aren't you supposed to be going out with Hotch?" -JJ asked, since they all knew about their monthly dates.

"Apparently, he is doing some stuff Strauss ordered, so no, no plans tonight." -Emily lied to her friend.

"Please JJ, I really need to get out of this house." -Emily insisted.

"Okay, okay, fine, I'll call Penelope and Will to make sure he is okay with staying with Henry tonight." -The blonde said, but she couldn't stop smiling widely because it had been a while since they had gone out on a 'girl's night out' date.

"Okay, cool…'Butterscotch' at 8?" -Emily said, smiling... that was their usual go to bar to hang out.

"I'll be there, and you know PG will." -JJ told her.

"See you then." -Emily replied, hanging up the phone.

She went upstairs to get ready. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for her husband to come home from doing God knows what! If he was allowed to come home late without telling her, then she was going to do the same thing. She changed into a pair of jeans that where a little too tight and a shirt that showed some of her cleavage, something Aaron would never have let her wear to a bar. But, oh well, he was too busy doing paperwork at work to care about his wife, so she wasn't going to care either. She knew she was probably acting like a teenager, and she didn't care…she was mad at him and she was going to go out with her friends and forget about him for one night. A part of her was intentionally behaving like that and dressing like that just to get under his skin, she knew exactly how to drive her husband crazy jealous. While she was changing, her cellphone rang…it was Aaron, and she looked at the phone for one second before sending the call to voicemail. A few minutes later, the house phone rang, too, but she didn't need to look to know who it was to ignore the call.

Emily arrived at Butterscotch around 8.15. Her hair was done her hair in nice curls, and she was wearing a little bit more makeup than usual, and she looked absolutely stunning…even at her age, she was unbelievably gorgeous; she had a body to die for, and she still had many guys that hit on her especially law enforcement officers, something that drove her husband completely nuts. As she walked into the bar, at least six guys turned around to look at the brunette beauty that had just walked in. She walked to the table where her friends were sitting. Aaron had called her at least twice more, but she had ignored all his calls.

"Wow! You look stunning, woman, are you trying to go home with a date tonight?" Penelope joked around. Emily just winked at her and laughed, hugging and kissing her friends.

JJ looked at Emily in shock. She looked very beautiful, but she usually didn't dress like that because she knew Hotch was a little jealous and possessive with her.

"You do realize there are at least six guys looking in this direction?" -JJ asked her as she leaned over to kiss her check.

"Oh, come on, Jayme, they are probably looking at you." -Emily said, smiling to herself. The girls ordered their drinks and started to have fun. After a few drinks Emily, felt much better, and she decided she was just going to enjoy this night with her friends, after all, she hadn't gone out in a while. They talked about everything they usually did as friends…everything was going very well until Penelope brought up something that caught Emily's attention.

"Hey Jayje, was it just me or did that woman that was with Hotch today look exactly like Haley?" -Penelope asked sipping her drink.

"She did, huh, I knew she looked familiar." -JJ said a little too loud.

"What woman?" -Emily asked, a little uncomfortable.

"The woman Hotch has been working with almost every day in his office. He said it was an important case." -JJ said, smiling at Emily, oblivious to what was going on.

"Kate Joyner?" -Emily asked, feeling knots forming in her stomach.

"Yeah, her. The case must be really important because she was there before I arrived this morning, and I got there at 7 am? -Penelope said.

"She was there last night, too, very late. I wonder what that is about. Maybe she is going to start working there. Emily dropped her drink on the floor, and the two woman turned to look at her in shock.

"Are you okay, Em, should we cut you off?" -JJ asked, joking around.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry, it slipped out of my hands. I'm going to go dry off." -She stammered and went to the bathroom.

Emily went to the bathroom and locked herself in one of the bathroom stalls. She closed her eyes, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. Aaron hadn't come home, and she knew now why, he had been with that woman all night…he had spent the night at the office with her, or probably somewhere else. Emily couldn't believe this, it couldn't possibly be true, and Aaron wouldn't cheat on her. There had to be another explanation, but she wasn't sure there was. When she returned to the table her friends were a little concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay?" -JJ asked, very concerned.

"I'm fine, JJ, I promise." -Emily replied, faking a smile.

They kept drinking and having fun, with Emily trying to ignore what had just happened and putting it behind her. But, she couldn't, she was so angry and confused. Her phone rang a couple more times, but she ignored the calls, she knew it was him.

Around one in the morning, the girls finally decided to call it quits to go home, and Emily drove to her house, crying all the way there…she couldn't believe this. Was Aaron really having an affair...this couldn't be possible. She parked her car, and she could see all the lights were on, so, she knew he was still up and probably waiting for her. She knew things were going to get pretty bad; she was furious with him, and he probably was, too, because she had not answered his calls. On top of that, she had too much to drink, and she was dressed a little inappropriately for his tastes. She sighed and decided to go inside and face his music with her attitude.

Aaron was sitting on a kitchen stool waiting for her. He knew she was mad at him, and that was why she had ignored his calls, but this was too much. It was one in the morning, and she had never come home this late…not to mention the fact she didn't tell him where she was. He heard the door open, and he immediately stood up. When Emily walked inside, he wanted to die. His eyes landed on her outfit, and he could tell she had been drinking, his eyes turned dark and fiery. He felt his blood pressure rising, and his mind was racing to "where the hell had she been dressed like that".

"It's one o'clock in the morning, Emily, where were you?" -Emily carefully placed her purse on the table by the door and ignored him completely.

"I'm talking to you." Aaron hissed furiously, letting his emotions win.

"I went out." -Emily calmly replied, walking past him avoiding his gaze. He was crazy jealous and mad, and he couldn't control his emotions. He approached her and stopped her by grabbing her arm a little roughly turning her around to face him. His eyes were fiery, and he was shaking mad.

"OUT WITH WHO? AND DRESSED LIKE THAT!" -He screamed at her furiously.


	11. Chapter 11

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 11: Ultimatum

Aaron was sitting on a kitchen stool waiting for her, he knew she was probably still mad at him, and that was why she had ignored his calls, but this was too much…it was one in the morning and she had never come home this late, not to mention the fact she didn't tell him where she was. He heard the door opening and he immediately stood up, walking toward the door. When Emily walked inside, he wanted to die. His eyes immediately went to her outfit and he could tell she had been drinking…his eyes turned dark and fiery. He felt his blood pressure rising to "where the hell had she been and why was she dressed like that".

"It's one o'clock in the morning, Emily, where were you"? -Emily calmly placed her purse on the table by the door and completely ignored him.

"I'm talking to you, Emily." -He hissed furiously, letting his emotions win.

"I went out." -Emily replied calmly, walking past him and ignoring him. He was crazy jealous and shaking mad, and he couldn't control his emotions. He approached her and stopped her by grabbing her arm a little roughly turning her around to face him with fire in his eyes.

"OUT WITH WHOM? AND DRESSED LIKE THAT?" -He yelled at her furiously.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" -Emily asked furiously, snatching her arm back.

"I'm asking you a question." -Aaron raised his voice again.

"First of all, do not ever talk to me like that again!" -Emily warned angrily.

"I was out with the girls, okay? Happy? Now, move out of the way." -She said furiously, as he was blocking her way up the stairs.

"NO, we're not done here!" -Aaron said, through piercing eyes.

"Well, I'm done, MOVE, I'm going to bed." -She said again angrily.

"I've been calling you all night, and not even once did you have the courtesy to answer to tell me where you were." -He said, hovering over her very angrily.

"Oh? I'm sorry…I lost track of time." -She said, mocking him and looking at him defiantly. Aaron understood what was doing, now. This was about this morning…she was mad at him, and she was trying to get under his skin, but this was too much.

"Where were you?" -He asked again.

"I've already told you I went out with the girls." -Emily replied, moving away from him and going into the kitchen for a bottle of water.

"You went out with the girls dressed like that?" -Aaron asked, getting angrier by the minute.

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing? I mean, you can go out and spend the night God knows where and doing God knows what, and I can't go out with my friends?" -She screamed, finally letting the alcohol win, and she knew this was just about to get worse.

"I spent the night at work, Emily, I've already apologized for that, I was working on a case, and I fell asleep." -He explained again.

"With Kate Joyner on your lap? Or, was she in another position?' -Emily snapped.

"What are you talking about, Emily?" -He asked, looking at her in shock. Emily just shook her head angrily.

"You know what, I don't care what you do anymore, somewhere along the way, you lost respect for me, and you can't even see that my actions are the same as your actions, and you don't like them in me, but they're okay for you to do. They hurt me, what do they do to you?" -She walked past him again, furiously going upstairs.

"Emily, you don't walk out on me, we aren't done here!" -Aaron screamed, going after her.

"STOP! DO NOT FOLLOW ME!" -She screamed, as she stopped in the middle of the stairs, turning to look at him with anger and hatred in her fiery, beautiful eyes.

"I am done with you, I am not doing this right now, I am tired, and do not come upstairs…I do not want you in my bed tonight!" -She told him and then rushed upstairs to her room, slamming the door.

Aaron stood there in complete shock, this was getting totally out of control. Emily was angrier than he had ever seen her in his life, and now she was having suspicions about Kate Joyner. He didn't know what else to do; all he was trying to do was to protect his family, and he was fucking everything up. He didn't want to leave the house that night because he truly was afraid that Emily might leave him in her present state of mind, and he didn't think he would survive if she left him. All he knew was he had to find some way to remedy this situation with Emily before he ruined his marriage.

The next day, Aaron showed up at work earlier than usual, and that meant he was way early. He knew that he was fucking up big time with Emily, and he needed to fix things but in order for him to do that he had to catch Foyet, it was the only way he was going to be able to fix things with his wife and put this behind him. So, he swore that he would catch Foyet without it affecting his personal life…he would come home every night at a decent hour and do as much as he could to repair things with Emily. The team had just returned from a very long case a few days ago, and they were currently doing paperwork. Emily was quietly working at her desk, he had approached her on a few occasions to give her some files, but she had remained cold and distant the entire time, and that made him very sad. Around three o clock, Emily left the office, it was a little earlier than her scheduled time, but he knew she was angry, so he decided to leave it alone and give her some space. He returned to his office to finish the team files, then he decided he would work on Foyet's case for a few hours and would go home at a decent hour. Unfortunately, Kate called him to tell him they had spotted Foyet at a gas station near Arlington, Virginia, and he ended up leaving work to meet Kate. This was just what they needed, they finally had a clue to where Foyet was now, and that was a big step. He was particularly happy...if this turned out to be true, they could get Foyet very soon, and he could settle everything with Emily and get his life back.

Meanwhile, Emily was at her daughter's school. Alana had her recital that day, and she had been rehearsing for a while now. Alana and her class were performing "It's a Small World" and all the kids were dressing as different nationalities and singing for the parents. The show was supposed to be fun and a great experience for the parents. Emily had volunteered to help the kids get ready. Alana was supposed to represent the United Kingdom because she had beautiful alabaster skin and dark hair. Emily was happily helping them all get dressed and ready for the show, and she kept glancing at her watch, because while Aaron knew about the show, Alana and she both had told him repeatedly about it, he had to show, there was no way he was going to miss his daughter's show, even if they were in the midst of a big fight, he wouldn't do that. And when Emily was finally finished helping the kids get dressed in their costumes, she returned to the auditorium where all the parents were sitting. She glanced around trying to find her husband, but she didn't see him. She was hoping he would show and maybe they could all go to dinner after the show was over. Jack was going to come later, too; Haley had agreed to drop him off at the show, and maybe she could talk Haley into letting her take Jack for the night so they could all go for dinner, the family needed it. As mad as she was with Aaron, she loved him more than anything in life, and she wanted to repair their relationship, and she didn't want to lose him. She had been very angry the night before, but she was hoping it was all a mistake, and Aaron had a better explanation about Kate. Emily was hoping she was just seeing things since she was so desperate and she had over reacted. She wanted to have dinner with her kids and her husband and then go home and talk with him to work everything out until they both cleared things up, then they could make love and their life could be back to normal. She was willing to do anything it took to repair her marriage. When she couldn't find Aaron, she decided to go find some good seats and wait for him and for Jack there. A little later Jack arrived with Haley, and they sat next to Emily.

"Where's Aaron?" -Haley asked Emily with a smile on her face. They got along really well now for her being Aaron's ex-wife. Haley knew that their marriage had failed because his job had gotten in the way. Haley had remarried, too, and she was happy that Aaron was married to a woman that understood him and his job well.

"He's not here yet." -Emily said, hiding the disappointment in her voice. Haley nodded and got comfortable in the chair; she wanted to stay for the show, after all, Alana was Jack's half-sister, and they both loved each other devotedly.

A few minutes later, Dave arrived, too, holding flowers for Alana and smiling widely.

"Hey you...I didn't think you were going to come." -Emily smiled.

"She's my goddaughter, I wouldn't miss this for the world." -He said, leaning down to kiss Emily's cheek.

"Where's Aaron?" -He asked, looking around.

"I don't know, I thought he was still at work." -She said, looking around to see if he had come in.

"He left before I did...maybe he got caught up in traffic." -Dave reasoned.

"Yeah, maybe." -Emily said sadly, but she had a feeling already that he wasn't going to show up.

They all watched the show together; it was amazing and just what Emily needed to bring a huge smile to her face, watching her beautiful daughter dance and sing for the school was more that she could handle, she cried a couple times, partly because she couldn't believe her baby girl was so big now and acting in school plays. She remembered the day the nurses placed Alana in her arms, that little pink ball with black gorgeous eyes, the minute she held her, Alana wrapped her little fingers around her mom's finger and fell asleep. It was the most amazing moment of her Emily's life, watching this precious angel that was all hers and Aaron's, their little gift, she swore to protect her and give her life for her if ever necessary. Four years later, here she was watching her as she danced and sang happily in a cute dress. She was so big now, and time had flown by. Alana was so incredibly talented and smart…she could already read and write, and she was not even in elementary school yet, she was only in preschool, she also spoke Spanish very well because her mother had taught her. She was very curious and intelligent, and she had volunteered to participate in the show. Technically, it was a show for first graders, but the teachers couldn't deny her especially because they were in complete shock when Alana memorized the song so rapidly. In reality, most teachers were very fond of her since she was the smallest girl in the entire school that was not only bilingual but knew how to read and write.

So Emily watched with her eyes full of tears, that was her baby girl there, she was so proud of her, this was the most amazing moment of her life, but the other part of her was crying because Aaron should have been here, she was his daughter, too. If he didn't care about Emily that was fine, but he cared about his daughter, and she simply couldn't believe he wasn't here…she could only wonder what he was doing and with whom. When the recital was over, everyone applauded happily, and a little while later, the kids came out to meet their parents. Lanny was very sad that her dad hadn't come, but her mother told her he had an important meeting at work, and he wanted to be there but couldn't, so she had filmed the entire thing and would show him when they got home. Lanny nodded sadly, and that broke Emily's heart even more. Dave watched the entire thing; he knew Aaron was not in a meeting, and he knew something was definitely going on. He decided to take Emily out for dinner with Lanny and Emily agreed, and after they said goodbye to Haley and Jack, they took Lanny to her favorite kid restaurant. They laughed and had fun while eating, then Dave handed Lanny a 20 dollar bill so she could go play on the machines. Emily just rolled her eyes and let her daughter run off to play. They could watch her from where they were sitting just fine, but she had a feeling Dave had sent Lanny away to talk to her.

"Is everything okay, Em?" -He asked, taking her hand softly. He loved Emily like she was his daughter, and it worried him so much to see her hurting.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired." -She lied, but Dave was a profiler, and he could read her very well.

"You don't know where he is, do you?" -He simply asked. Emily just shook her head as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Hey, what's going on…talk to me, Em, you know you can trust me?" -He said, taking her hands and trying to comfort her.

"I don't know Dave, I don't know what is going on anymore." -She stated, looking away.

"May I ask you a question?" -She asked, looking at Dave very intensely.

"Of course." -Dave answered a little cautiously.

"You know Aaron better than anyone since you've been friends all your adult life." -She pointed out, looking at him, and he nodded looking a little worried.

"Do you think, do you believe he would...maybe..." -She couldn't form the words, but she knew she had to ask, she had to know.

"Do you think he would ever cheat on me?" -She finally asked. Dave was aghast at the question.

"What!? NO. Of course not, Emily, why would you even think that!" -But the look in her eyes told him everything.

"What is going on, sweetie?" -He asked, as he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't know, he's hiding something, he comes home late every night and lies about where he has been. The other day, I walked in his office, and this woman was touching him a little too inappropriately."

Dave watched astonished as she spoke, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Emily continued, "He didn't come home last night, and I just don't know what to do anymore, he won't tell me anything; it's almost like I don't know him anymore." -She said with more tears rolling down her face.

Dave let her talk until she was done, when she was, he spoke to her very softly:

"I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this, Em. I've known Aaron practically all my life, and I can assure you that he would never do something like that to you." -He told her he truly didn't believe Aaron would ever stoop to cheat on her.

"Emily, I don't think that is true, Aaron loves you so much. I've never seen him love someone the way he loves you, not even Haley." -He told her trying to calm her down.

"I don't know if I can believe that anymore." -Emily said looking away.

"Look, you know all marriages have issues...I've been married three times…trust me I know it, I'm sure this is just a rough patch in your marriage. Aaron wouldn't do that to you, Emily, I know he wouldn't." -Dave said seriously, but Emily wasn't sure anymore. Dave told her that she and Aaron needed to sit down and really talk, but not scream and fight because that wasn't going to get them anywhere. He suggested that she go home and try to find out why he hadn't made it to the recital, and he advised her not to scream and yell. Dave also told Emily they needed to just talk and both of them explain everything, and he encouraged her to be patient and not let this get in her head.

As Emily was driving home, she decided she was going to do just that. Alana fell sleep in the car on the way home…after the show and the excitement for the day, she was way too tired. Emily put her to bed, and came downstairs, making herself a cup of tea, waiting for Aaron. She had a feeling he would be home very late again, but she knew they needed to talk. Around eight o clock to her surprise, Aaron arrived home. He had been working with Kate and they had a positive identification on Foyet, so he was more confident about getting him now. It was only eight o'clock, and it was a very decent time to arrive home, he was hoping he could talk to his wife and make things a little better. He walked inside the house and placed his briefcase in the foyer…the house was very quiet and that worried him. He walked into the kitchen and saw Emily sitting there, she looked like she had been crying a lot and that worried him.

"Hey, are you okay, honey?" -He asked, walking toward her looking very worried.

"You didn't show up at your daughter's recital today...what's your excuse this time?" -Emily asked, sadly looking down at her tea.

Aaron felt like he had been punched in the face. He had forgotten about Lanny's recital altogether…he had been so worried about Foyet that he had completely blocked out the recital!

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Emily, I forgot about the recital...I...there's no excuse, I'm very sorry." -He said honestly.

"I can't do this anymore, Aaron." -Emily said, standing up with tears rolling down her face.

"Em...no, baby, wait...I'm very sorry, I'll do anything to make this up to you." -He said, approaching her…trying to hold her as she tried to move away.

"You don't have to make this one up to me, Aaron, you have to make an honest explanation to a little girl you are supposed to love more than yourself, that you forgot her dance recital completely because of some piece of work you had to take care of. Now, what that piece of work was, I don't know and at this point I don't care, but it must have been so important to you that you broke your daughter's heart for it. I just need to know if you still want to be part of this family because from where I'm standing right now, it doesn't appear that you want to be involved anymore." -She said calmly.

"What? Of course I do, Emily, this was just one thing I forgot, I am very sorry?" -He told her again, looking at her in shock.

"No, this isn't just about tonight, Aaron, it's about the times we don't spend together anymore, or when you come home late every night, too late to see the children, to read to them, or eat dinner with them or just to be with them, or you don't come home at all. What about the few times we have sex now, the FEW times we have sex and your mind is miles away, and obviously I can tell it's somewhere beside in the bed with me. Do you remember the fun we used to have each night? Probably not, because your mind is now elsewhere!"

And what surprised him the most was the calm tone in which she was speaking…he could have dealt with her screaming and angry, but she was so calm her voice was flat, like ice, and that worried him.

"I am done, Aaron. I can't do this anymore." -She said looking at him with piercing eyes, as if she was looking into his soul and reading his mind.

"If you want to be here...then I need you here completely. I need you to stop doing whatever it is that you are doing and whomever you are doing it with, because you are hurting me and your kids." -She told him, as more tears rolled down her face.

"Do you have any idea how sad Alana was that her daddy wasn't there tonight. Do you have any idea how much it pained me to see her sad face, and I couldn't even explain to her why her daddy wasn't there?" -Emily asked him, looking him sternly and straight in the eyes.

"I am very sorry, sweetheart...please, I will do anything you want "-He said grabbing for her hands, but she pulled them away again.

"No, Aaron, you have said those same words many times and then everything goes back to the same old way, you are acting weird, hiding things from me, from your friends...God, Aaron, you are not even in the room when you make love to me." -Emily said finally letting the tears roll freely from her eyes

"It stops now I swear to you…Emily, please baby, I'm begging you." -Aaron begged her with tears forming in his eyes, he couldn't stop them from forming.

"This is an ultimatum, Aaron, this all stops now! Whatever it is that you are doing, it stops now! If you want to be part if this family I want you here for me and the kids one hundred percent of the time. If you cannot do that, then I don't want you in this house at all!" -She told him very seriously, still speaking in that calm, icy tone.

"Emily." -He begged again.

"No, Aaron, I am so done, think about this very seriously and make your decision, but whatever this is needs to be over, and if you decide you want to remain with us, you need to make a new, committed effort to be with us." -She walked past him again going into her bedroom and locking the door again. Hotch knew that this was it, there were no more chances…he had fucked up completely. He knew he had to do something to repair their relationship and get them back to normal…he couldn't afford to lose Emily, too. This was way too much, he couldn't bear this situation any longer, he realized he was hurting the person he loved most in life, and he had to stop, and he had to stop NOW…he had to do something about this, or he was going to lose Emily for good, and he was going to regret it for the rest of his life. He grabbed his keys from the basket by the door and left the house. He couldn't stay there right now…he had to fix this, and he knew exactly what he had to do.

He arrived at his office a little while later, after he had driven around trying to figure out the best way he could resolve this situation. He felt horrible, he was lying to Emily and to his friends, and Emily had finally given him an ultimatum. He had to repair this mess he had made as she said no matter what. Emily was the love of his life, and he wasn't going to lose her, maybe they were all right if he could get this Foyet situation settled in his mind…he had to let Foyet go for his own good and his family's wellbeing. Aaron knew he had to put all of this behind him, he had to just let life take its course and let the State Department handle Foyet; this was it, this was his last chance to repair things with Emily, and he wasn't going to fuck this up by plotting revenge on someone he had absolutely no clue where he was...especially for someone whose main goal was to destroy his life. Aaron felt that was letting Foyet win.

As he entered his office knowing this was it he had to let go of this case and put it behind him, he stepped in front of his desk and picked up an envelope that had been delivered for him. Seeing that it had no name of sender information, he set the envelope aside and he started collecting all the files he had about Foyet's case, placing them in the box. He was going to put everything away and forget about Foyet once and for all. He would go home to Emily and beg for her forgiveness no matter what he had to do. He would also make it up to his daughter for missing her recital, he was going to repair it all. He placed all the files in the box and decided he was going to burn it and move on with his life. He was ready to take the box of files down to the incinerator when the phone in his office rang. He walked to his desk and answered the phone.

"Hotchner." -Hotch answered.

"Hotchner." -Hotch said again.

Then the familiar cold and raspy voice came on the phone.

"_If you stop hunting me I will stop hunting them"- Foyet said. _


	12. Chapter 12

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 12: Life, Death, Decisions

As he entered his office knowing this was it...he had to let go of this case and put it behind him, he stepped in front of his desk and picked up an envelope that had been delivered for him. Seeing that it had no name of sender information, he set the envelope aside and started collecting all the files he had about Foyet's case, placing them in the box. He was going to put everything away and forget about Foyet once and for all. He would go home to Emily and beg for her forgiveness no matter what he had to do. He would also make it up to his daughter for missing her recital, he was going to repair it all. He placed all the files in the box and decided he was going to burn it and move on with his life. He was ready to take the box of files down to the incinerator when the phone in his office rang. He walked to his desk and answered the phone.

"Hotchner." -Hotch answered.

"Hotchner." -Hotch said again.

Then the familiar cold and raspy voice came on the phone.

"_If you stop hunting me I will stop hunting them"- Foyet said. _

Hotch was in shock...he couldn't believe this; he couldn't believe that after so many months in search of Foyet, Foyet was finally calling him. Of course, that was just what Foyet was about, control and dominance.

"What took you so long?" -Hotch asked calmly and curiously.

"_Patience, Agent Hotchner, I had things to do." -Foyet said and laughed on the phone._

"Or, is it the fact that the entire State Department is after you?" -Hotch asked sardonically, but Foyet just laughed at him.

"_They will never get me, you didn't catch me until I wanted you to catch me, and even then, I escaped." -Foyet's voice was evil and maniacal._

"Is that why you called, because I really have a lot of things to do." -Hotch replied rudely. Foyet just laughed at him again.

"_Oh no, Agent Hotchner, I called because see, I have another deal just for you. What do you say, want to play my game?" -He asked, laughing so crudely that it made Hotch's blood boil. _

"You can go to hell, you should know by now that I will never negotiate anything with a despicable piece of scum like you. I will catch you again." -Hotch was just about to hang up when Foyet called out to him again.

"_Be careful, Agent Hotchner, if I was you, I would not hang up." -Foyet warned. Hotch just stayed quiet and listened to what Foyet had to say._

"_Did you get my envelope, Agent Hotchner?" -Foyet asked, maliciously. Hotch's eyes landed on the envelope that he had put aside._

Hotch walked around his desk and picked up the envelope opening it in a rush; when he saw what was inside the envelope, he felt like he had been stabbed in his heart.

"_Do you want to make a deal now?" -Foyet asked with a nasty sneer in his voice. _

Inside the envelope there were hundreds of pictures all from his family, different days and scenarios. Foyet had been stalking his family...there were pictures of Jack at his soccer game, of Emily picking up the kids at school, pictures of Alana's recital, pictures of Emily alone buying coffee, every single movement his family had made. All the pictures had the Eye of Providence drawn on them with blood.

"If you come near them, I will kill you, I swear to you." -Hotch said angrily, he was shaking mad, and he felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

"_Agent Hotchner, Agent Hotchner, have you learned nothing from the past?" -Foyet asked, laughing like a maniac._

"_I'm not afraid of dying, by the time you catch me they'll be dead." -Foyet warned maliciously. Hotch couldn't make himself hang up the phone._

"I'm not making a deal with you." -He said firmly.

"_Oh, trust me, you will." -Foyet said calmly. "I don't think you will want to find your son Jack stabbed 47 times like all those victims in Boston, right, all because of you?"_

_Hotch couldn't breath as he heard those terrible words, and he closed his fist in anger._

"_Or, perhaps...how would you feel if you found that little brat daughter of your's all cut up in pieces all over Boston? She will, of course, know she died because of her daddy's inflated ego." -Hotch wanted so badly to be able to go through the phone and kill Foyet._

"_Maybe I can also send the head of that tasty bitch you have for a wife to you in a package as a trophy for your fucking arrogance. Of course, I'll enjoy the bitch as many times as I want, then..." -Foyet stopped, completely savoring how he could control Hotch._

"Stay away from them!" -Hotch warned, as tears began to roll down his face.

"_Make the deal." -Foyet said calmly._

"What do you want?" -Hotch asked desperately.

"_I want to see your miserable life fall apart, I want to see you suffer, I want you to remember me for the rest of your miserable life." -Foyet said angrily._

"What do you want?" -Hotch repeated.

"_Leave them, walk away from them. I want to see you suffer while you're away from them." -Foyet said, smiling evilly._

"_Make them think you don't care about them, and that you left them because you wanted to, and only then, and only then, will I not hurt them." -Foyet gleefully told him._

"I can't do that to my family." -Hotch said almost pleading.

"_Then prepare yourself for three funerals." -Foyet said, laughing maniacally again, about to hang up when Hotch spoke again._

"Wait, I'll do it." -He told Foyet.

"_Well, well, well, Agent Hotchner, you finally learned your lesson, if you agree to my terms, put an ad in the Michigan Post in the morning." -Foyet ordered._

"How do I know you won't still hurt them?" -Hotch questioned.

"_I have a word, Agent Hotchner, I respected my deal with Shaunessy." -Foyet told Hotch._

"_If you tell anyone about this, especially that bitch you have for a wife, the deal is off." -Foyet warned. _

"You have my word." -Hotch said firmly.

"_It's been a pleasure, Agent Hotchner, I await your reply." -Foyet said, laughing as he hung up the phone._

Hotch hung up the phone, shaking; he closed his eyes in anger and frustration. He couldn't believe he had just agreed to a deal with one of the most dangerous serial killers in the history of Boston, but he knew he had no choice. He picked up the pictures that Foyet sent him, and he placed them in the box placing them on the bottom so no one would have access to them. He knew Emily would never forgive him for what he was about to do, but he had no choice, he had to do it. He preferred to have his own life fall apart, and to have his wife and his kids hate him, than to put them at risk; he would just have to find a way to do it without Emily finding out about it.

He stayed in his office for a little while longer, collecting everything he had on Foyet placing it in the box. Now, more than ever, he needed to find Foyet, and when he did he would kill him, then he would try to get his family back together, although, he knew after what he was going to do, he probably would never be able to get them back. But, he had to do anything in his power to keep his family safe. He called Kate and told her about the call. Hotch agreed to meet with her at her house and tell her everything about the Foyet call. As he was about to leave his office, Dave walked in.

"What are you doing here?" -Aaron asked Dave since it was close to midnight.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" -Dave said, looking at his friend from most of his adult life.

"Shouldn't you be home with your wife? Shouldn't you have been at Alana's recital this afternoon?" -Dave asked, frustrated with Hotch's lack of attention to his relationship with his family, Hotch didn't respond, he just kept picking up files and putting them into the box.

"What the hell are you doing Aaron!" -Dave exclaimed more firmly, but Hotch just ignored him again. It was then that Dave approached Hotch and picked up one of the files he had on his desk and opened it. Dave shook his head angrily when he saw what was in the file.

"Foyet!? Are you freaking kidding me?" -Dave asked angrily.

"I have to go, Dave, is there anything else you need?" -Hotch asked annoyed.

"You need to stop this, Aaron, or, you're going to regret this for the rest of your life!" -Dave screamed at him. Hotch just turned around and started to walk out of his office.

"Emily thinks you're cheating on her, do you have any idea how much damage you're causing them, or are you too fucking stupid to see that?" -Dave snarled.

"After tomorrow, I won't be a problem for Emily and my family anymore." -Hotch said with his back to Dave.

"What are you saying, Aaron?" -Dave questioned, but Aaron walked out of the office leaving his friend standing there with his mouth open and a stunned look in his eyes. Dave knew that their world had just begun to change into a horrible place to be.

Dave just stood there watching his friend walk out, something was very wrong, and he could see it, in fact, he had seen it for the last couple of weeks. Aaron had not been himself, he was always locked in his office and in a horrible mood most of the time. Dave knew Aaron has very affected by Foyet's case, but this was too much, this was out of control. Aaron was screwing things up in his marriage and with the team, and Dave knew he was going to get into a lot of trouble if he didn't get his head together. Dave wanted to help him, but he didn't really know how. Aaron had stopped talking to him and had become a totally different person. Dave could see now why Emily was so worried and mistrustful. Aaron was hiding something, and he had a feeling it was a bad something. While he was sure Aaron would never dare to cheat on Emily, he wasn't sure he was being completely honest with her and even with him. He just wished he could do something about it; after all, Aaron was his best friend, and he would hate to see something happening to him and his beautiful wife.

Aaron didn't come home that night. In fact, he didn't even come to the office the next day. Strauss told them that Hotch had called in and said he needed the day off. Emily was stunned...he had never asked for a day off in all the time she had known him. She had no idea where he was; she wanted to call him, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea. After all, she had given him an ultimatum, she was sure he had made a decision and she thought she knew what decision that was. Emily just hoped Aaron had enough balls to tell her his decision to her face, and not run away like a coward and not even face her. Emily fought so hard all day to keep the tears at bay; she couldn't believe this was happening, or that Aaron had left after she talked to him, and had not returned and now no one knew where he was, although she had a pretty good idea. She just kept trying to convince herself all day it was all in her head.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon she left work like she normally did, to pick her daughter at school. They didn't have Jack that week, so she didn't need to pick him up. Although, lately it seemed as if Aaron didn't even care about Jack either; the weeks he had spent at the Hotchner household it was usually only her and the two kids alone. Aaron had come home late every night, and she truly didn't feel like arguing with him in front of the children, so she decided to just let it go. She picked up Alana and decided to just focus on her for today...she didn't want her kids to be affected by any of this, and it was already bad enough that Hotch was very seldom home. Emily wanted to spent as much time as she could with Alana. They arrived home and Lanny hopped out of the car and ran inside the house with Emily following after her.

"Lanny, go change out of your uniform, please." -Emily ordered placing her purse on the table inside the door and handing Alana her backpack.

"Okay, mommy, can we make spaghetti tonight?" -Her daughter asked happily.

"Do you want spaghetti, baby?" -Emily knelt down on the floor to hug her daughter.

"Yeah, and can I help you cooking?" -Her little face lit up.

"Yes, you can help me, but go change, please, and we need to do homework too, okay?" -Emily ordered sweetly.

Lanny nodded and ran up to her room to change; she liked to help her mom in the kitchen very much. Actually, she liked to spend as much time as she could with her mommy since Lanny was a mommy's girl.

A little while later, Emily was in the kitchen with her four year old, and they were making spaghetti and meatballs. Surprisingly, Lanny was a very neat and organized child, she hardly made messes, and she didn't like dirt or messy spaces. So, she was making the meatballs very carefully and without making any spills. Emily was by the stove making the sauce and the pasta, and she watched with pride as her daughter worked, deeply concentrating on her project, and she couldn't stop the big smile Lanny's efforts brought to her face. She was her daughter in all possible ways...a mini Emily.

"Mommy?" -Alana asked, bringing Emily back from her thoughts.

"What is it, baby?" -Emily smiled.

"Where is daddy?" -Emily's smile disappeared and she felt a hole in her stomach.

"Your dad is working, sweetheart." -Emily responded calmly.

"He is always at work, he never comes home anymore, he didn't even go to my recital" -the four year old said, sadly pouting at her mother.

Emily wanted to die, how could she explain the situation to her four year old. It broke her heart to see her child this sad and affected by Aaron's behavior, their children didn't deserve this. Emily turned off the stove and sat on the chair next to her daughter.

"Sweetie, can you put that down for a second, mommy needs to talk to you" -Emily asked Alana sweetly. Lanny nodded and put everything down; Emily pulled her into her lap and brought her face to look at her.

"You know that your daddy loves you so very much, and he is very sorry that he missed your recital, sweetheart." -Alana just listened to her mom as she talked to her.

"Daddy has a very difficult job, and sometimes his job doesn't let him come home because he has to catch the bad guys, but he loves you more than anything in this world" -Emily continued speaking, fighting her tears that were threatening to fall.

"Daddy is a superhero right, mommy? That is why he's always busy?" -Lanny reasoned smiling.

"Yeah, baby, daddy is a super hero, and he loves you very, very much." -Emily said, her eyes full of tears.

"Why are you crying, mommy?" -Lanny asked in concern.

"I'm crying because I love you very much, and I don't like to see you sad." -Emily said, Lanny jumped in her mother's arms hugging her really tightly. Then she kissed her mom's cheek.

"Mommy, you know what I think?" -Lanny asked when they pulled apart.

"What is it, baby." -Emily asked, smiling and wiping her eyes.

"I think you're a cooler super hero, because you also work, and you also make the best spaghetti in the world!" -Lanny cried smiling widely. Emily burst into laughter, and pulled her baby girl into her arms again.

"What do you say if we make some cookies, too?" -Emily asked, trying to cheer up her daughter.

"Yayyy, let's make cookies!" -She screamed happily, and Emily smiled...no matter what she had to do, she would keep her kids happy, she would not let any of this affect them. Emily vowed to herself she would not let the mess Aaron was making affect their daughter no matter what she had to do.

Emily spent the rest of the afternoon with her daughter; she wanted to be there for her as much as she could. Alana was already sad that her dad wasn't home, so Emily was trying to fill that empty space in Alana for him. They finished cooking and ate together, and she even let Alana have more cookies than she usually would. Then she took Alana upstairs for her bath and even played with her in the bathtub. Emily helped her with her homework and put her to bed, reading her two stories. At the end of the day, Emily was exhausted but the smiling face on her beautiful, sleeping daughter was worth every minute of the exhaustion.

She went downstairs to finish cleaning the kitchen and then sat down at the table doing some of her reports and having some coffee. It was very late when she heard Aaron's car pulling up in the driveway.

Aaron parked his car at his house; he had been with Kate all day and all night. He couldn't believe what he had just done...with Kate, he knew he was going to break Emily's heart completely. He'd been up almost all night thinking what was the best to do, and he went to the only place he knew he could go where he wouldn't be condemned or judged and to see someone he could trust... he went to see Kate Joyner. Aaron cried there for hours, but in the end, he still knew he had to do it. He could think of no other way. He felt horrible inside, he felt like the worst kind of criminal, he couldn't forgive himself for doing this to Emily, but he had no other choice.

He and Kate had talked for many hours about Foyet's call, but he ended up doing it anyway. He looked at the paper again, the paper that was on his lap, the newspaper where he had published the ad that morning after he had been with Kate all night. He read his own ad. _"If you stop hunting them, I will stop hunting you. For as long as we shall live. Until death do us apart." _He sighed and closed his eyes...he knew it was time to face Emily. Aaron felt horrible about what he had done, but he still had to tell Emily no matter what.

He got out of the car and walked toward the house. He had never felt so worthless in his entire life, he knew what he was about to tell Emily was going to devastate her and tear her world apart. Aaron knew without a doubt that Emily loved him with everything in her being. He was her soulmate, as she had been his. He had loved Haley, but Haley had been a first love, an easy love, but she had never understood the depths of him, and Emily got Aaron on every level of his being. He had never felt such love in his life, and his love for Emily just poured out of him into her heart. He opened the door quietly and walked into the house.

Emily was sitting at the table going through files she had brought home from work. She look so sad and forlorn and so vulnerable that it pained him even more. Emily looked up when she saw Aaron walking into the kitchen. She didn't want to argue anymore...he had been gone for at least 24 hours, and she had a million questions in her head, but to be honest, she was just exhausted by all of this. He walked into the kitchen and stopped by one of the stools. Emily could see something was up, something was different about him, something was wrong.

"Do you mind telling me where you have been for the last 24 hours?" -Emily asked quietly, standing up and looking at him defiantly.

"I'm sorry." -Aaron said, looking at the floor. Something was definitely up when he couldn't even face her.

"Where were you?" -She asked again, raising her voice, Emily was losing her patience with him.

"I...I was...I was with Kate." -Aaron said, looking away from her. Emily felt a huge hole in her stomach, and she felt like Aaron had kicked her in the stomach with his foot.

"All the other times, I was with her, too." -Aaron said sadly, with tears forming in his eyes, while looking away...he couldn't look her in the eyes. He couldn't stand to see her begin to crumble within herself because he was starting the end of her happiness, he could already see it. He could see the color of her skin begin to become paler if that was even possible.

Wait! What was he talking about! Emily's heart started to beat a hundred miles per hour...she couldn't breathe...she started gasping for breath. This couldn't be true. Aaron wouldn't do this to her. NO, NO, NO, NO, no, no, no..., this wasn't true, this had to be a mistake!

"Did...did you..." -She just couldn't form those horrible words.

She finally managed..."Did you sleep with her?" -Emily asked with huge tears rolling down her face, all the while she was hoping this was a bizarre dream...this was a mistake..._Say no, please say no, please say no, please say no!_

"I'm very sorry, Emily. I never meant to hurt you" -Aaron confirmed apologizing profusely.

"Oh my god..." -Emily cried, bringing her hand to cover her mouth, heavy tears running down her face and running to the bathroom where he could hear her throwing up in the toilet. Going to her trying to hold her hair out of her way, she pushed him out of her way and said he had no right to help her do anything and get out of her way! It was killing him to hear her in so much pain. When Emily came back into the kitchen, Aaron could see the horror on her face, and he could see she was dying inside, and he knew she wasn't going to recover from this.

"Emily." -Aaron tried to approach her, but it was too late...the damage was done.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" -She screamed, crying, "I don't want you to ever put your hands on me again. I don't know how you can even think I would want you to touch me again."

"I'm so sorry, Emily, I wish..." -But, Emily approached him and slapped him open palmed across the face as hard as she could, leaving a very red handprint on his face.

"I told you once that I would forgive you anything but this." -Emily cried with her eyes full of tears looking at him forlornly, with hatred yet filled with love that he had just thrown away.

"I don't want you any near me. If you need to get anything here, don't come around when I'm here. I don't want to ever see you again in my life. So, if you want anything from this house, you need to get it soon, or it will be gone.

"I wish I could say that I hate you now, but I can't. You can be sure, though, that I will be working on that."

"Emily." -Aaron tried to explain again.

"GET OUT!" -Emily screamed again, louder than before.

"Emily, please." -Aaron pleaded again trying to get her to listen to him.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! I DON'T WANT TO EVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" -Emily screamed, pushing him away, running upstairs. She slammed the door closed.

Hotch stood there tears rolling down his own face, he had hurt the person that he loved the most in this world, nothing mattered for him anymore. He left the house and got in his car again, tears rolling down his face. He had wanted so much to tell her he still loved her, that everything had been a terrible mistake, hoping that when he could finally tell her the truth about Kate and Foyet, he knew that he probably had lost the most important thing he had ever had in his life. What could he do. He thought he had cried all the tears he had in his body last night when he was at Kate's and they were trying to sort this mess out, but he found out that as long as Emily was in his life, even when she didn't know it, he would have a million tears to shed...it had just begun.

Emily fell to her knees as soon as she closed the door; she collapsed on the floor crying heavily. This couldn't be possible, this couldn't be true, this had to be a nightmare. She couldn't believe Aaron had cheated on her, she couldn't believe he had betrayed her, she couldn't believe this was real. It had to be a nightmare. _Please God let it be a dream. Oh God, she loved him so much. Please help her get through this. Give her the strength to put one foot in front of the other so she could take care of Alana, and help ease the pain that was in her heart because of what Aaron had just done to her._


	13. Chapter 13

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 13: Lost in an Abyss

It had been one week since Aaron had told Emily he had cheated on her...one week since he had broken her heart and ruined his life. One week since she had kicked him out of the house, and he had been devastated since that day. He hadn't been able to sleep, think, function or do anything worthwhile at all. Emily was the love of his life, his saving grace, and he never thought he would feel this empty and lonely in his entire life. He would never forgive himself for the damage he had caused Emily and his family. He was very sure the rest of the team was going to hate him as soon as they found out, too. Emily had not been to work since that night.

She had called Strauss to request a week off, and he realized she hated him so much she called Strauss not him. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, he didn't know if Emily was going to quit the BAU because of his stupidity, but it was partly a relief she had called for a week off instead of quitting. Hotch could only imagine the kind of pain Emily was going through, because he hated himself so much for everything he had done to her. He hated that he had destroyed his family and broken their hearts, but the only thing that comforted him was that Foyet wouldn't go after them now. Hotch knew Foyet had a word, and he was going to keep it, and as long as he stayed away from Emily and the kids they were going to be safe. Hotch knew deep in his heart that even if he ended up getting Foyet and killing him, Emily was never going to forgive him. He knew that the moment he had told her he had cheated on her, the pain in her beautiful eyes, followed by hatred and anger, he knew in that movement it was over. He could only hope at some point with time, she didn't hate him anymore, and she could, at least, not resent him for what he had done; but he knew inside his heart that he wasn't going to be able to get her back.

It was Monday morning again, and as much as he hated it, he had to return to work and face her. He knew today was the day that she was supposed to be back at work, but he wasn't sure if that was going to happen, he could only pray she had not decided to quit her job because it wasn't fair to her...she had worked for that job all her life, it wasn't fair that she would lose that job because of his stupid mistakes. So, he showed up for work like he always did, early as the dawn, and he went straight to his office and locked the door. He had stacks of files to work on, files that time had turned on. He was in so much pain he could hardly concentrate on work. He wanted to disappear and never experience that kind of pain ever again. Hotch had not seen Emily or his children since that night and the absence was killing him. He had never spent that much time without seeing his family, but he even felt he couldn't call them because he knew Emily was very upset and angry, and she would probably not let him see Alana for a very long time. So, he didn't even dare to call.

Around eight in the morning, Emily showed up to work with her head high like nothing had happened, but Aaron could still see the pain in her face. The dark smudges under her eyes were more than evident, and she looked like she had lost weight. How could she have lost weight in a week! She was already very slim, but after all the pain he had put her through, it was very understandable. He wanted to run out of his office and run to her and pull her in his arms and beg her forgiveness, but he knew no matter what he did, he knew Emily was not going to forgive him. She told him that very thing once when they were talking about their marriage and how much they had to face to be where they were. That night, they shared many things, and they confessed to each other a lot of things in their lives, Emily told Hotch that she loved him more than life itself, so much that she would forgive him anything in life except if he was ever unfaithful to her. Hotch watched her as she sat down at her desk and proceeded to work as she normally would. She didn't say a word to him the rest of the day. Everyone had a lot of files to work on, so he knew this was a day for paperwork and reports, especially for Emily since she had been absent for a week, but he was willing to give her all the time she needed to get all her files up to date. He decided to concentrate on his own reports and finish the day no matter how much it pained him.

Around three o'clock someone knocked on his office door...he had been working on all his files for the last few hours, and he had a major headache; he had not had anything to eat all morning, nor had he even eaten lunch. He was really hoping it was not JJ to let him know they had another case. Hotch wasn't sure he could handle going on another case right now, or worse, he was hoping it was not Strauss to drag him into another bureaucratic, boring meeting. He told whomever was behind the door to come in and his eyes returned to his files again.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir." Emily said, as she walked inside. Aaron immediately looked up when he heard her voice.

"Emily." But, he didn't know what else to say...she looked so tired, and it was evident that she had been crying nonstop. He couldn't stand to see how much pain she was going through.

"I just wanted to give you all my files, sir." She said, her voice cold and flat.

"Listen, if you need time to turn everything in, you can take as much time as you need." Aaron told her, fighting the urge to step next to her and pull her in his arms. Emily laughed sarcastically...

"Thanks, but I don't need your pity, here are all my files, the ones from last week, too." She said, looking at him with hatred in her eyes, placing the files on his desk, keeping only one envelope in her hands.

"I didn't mean that. I...thank you." He simply said. He didn't know what else to do. Emily just nodded. He felt horrible...he couldn't stand the look of unbelievable hatred she gave him.

To his surprise, Emily remained there looking at him, she was nervous and the envelope she had in her arms called his attention. _Please don't let that be her resignation letter, please... _

"Just tell me why, Aaron." She finally asked in a broken voice; she knew this wasn't the place or the time, but she had to know. Aaron froze looking down at her, he was stunned and know what to respond. "Just tell me what it was that she had and I didn't that made you do this to me, and to your kids. What did I do wrong? What did I not give you that you needed?" She asked, as a single tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Emily, please, don't do this." He begged. Emily just laughed again, sarcastically. Aaron couldn't even answer that.

"Well, whatever it was, I hope she was worth losing me and your family." She said, finally placing the envelope on his desk. I need that signed as soon as possible, please." She said firmly. She was about to walk out the door when she turned around.

"Alana misses her daddy a lot. I know you don't care about me, but if you care about her at all, please contact my lawyer so you can arrange a time to see her." She walked out of his office and went straight to her desk to pick up her belongings.

Lawyer? What was she talking about? Why did he need a lawyer to see his daughter? His eyes landed on the envelope that she had placed on his desk...he quickly opened the envelope and inside found another very small envelope along with some papers. He pulled out the documents, and his heart dropped; he felt like he had been kicked in the stomach and tears formed in his eyes. It was a Dissolution of Marriage, and Emily had already signed the documents. Emily was filing for divorce. Aaron opened the smaller envelope as tears were rolling down his face, two small sparkling rings bounced on his desk...Emily's wedding band and her engagement ring. Aaron closed his eyes, crying. It was over...he had lost her forever. Emily wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. And with that, Aaron as if his world had come to an end.

Emily left the BAU and went to pick up her daughter at school. She had sworn that she was going to be strong for Alana, but it hadn't been that easy. The night she found out Aaron had cheated on her, Emily spent the entire night crying. She barely had enough energy to get out of bed, get Alanan to school, and then return home. Emily spent all the rest of the morning in bed crying. She couldn't believe Aaron had done this to her after everything they had been through; after his marriage with Haley had fallen apart, she watched over him crying and mourning for Haley, she saw the pain he had gone through. It was Emily who brought him back to life, and now it was him who was breaking her heart in a million pieces and hurting her like no man had ever done. She was sure, though, she would never recover from this, and she knew she would never be able to love anyone again, not the way she loved Aaron. But, she had to be strong for Alana, because Alana needed her more than anything. Alana was the most important thing for her in the world, actually the only important thing now that Aaron had shown his true colors. So, she swore she wasn't going to shed any tears around her daughter, or let her see the pain she was going through, in fact, she was going to give her life and her soul to her daughter, and that was all, Aaron was dead to her.

As she was driving to Alana's school with a million thought running through her mind and a few tears rolling down her face, she realized it was so hard for her to work with him, to have to see him everyday of her life, but she wasn't going to quit her job. She wasn't going to give up what she worked so hard for all this time, the BAU had been one of her biggest goals, and she wasn't going to give that up for him. In fact, she was planning to return to active duty as an agent; she had talked to Strauss that morning telling her she wanted to be active on cases again. she had not gone to Aaron because she couldn't stand looking at him, and because he would never have agreed to letting her return to active duty. They had made a decision a long time ago that she would no longer travel with the team unless they absolutely needed her, but, since he broke their most sacred promise, she didn't owe him anything. She needed the money and the hours now that she was a single mother, and being a full time duty agent would pay so much more than her position now. and she was absolutely sure she wanted nothing from Aaron. She needed to talk with her mother-in-law soon about the situation, since Helen would eventually find out about the divorce, and she wanted to let her know she was going to hire a full time babysitter for Lanny, and she didn't want to bother her anymore since she would be traveling with the team for every case now.

She picked Alana up and drove home. Emily had a lot of things to arrange...she had already started the divorce process, but she had to arrange some other things. For now, she wanted to go home with her daughter because she was the only thing that gave her comfort and solace. She parked her car and helped Lanny out of the car and watched her as she ran to the front door, smiling widely, watching her healthy and happy, made her feel happy and she knew her baby girl was going to be her strength to get through this. They walked inside the house and Lanny placed her backpack carefully by the door and ran to her room to change as she usually did, while Emily made a few calls and fixed a couple of things with the BAU for her return as fully active duty agent. She was in the kitchen with her laptop open when the doorbell rang. She went to check, a little surprised since she wasn't expecting anyone. Lanny came running down the stairs, excited to see who their visitor was. Emily checked the peephole and smiled widely when she saw who the visitor was.

"Hey Dave." She greeted.

"Sorry to show up unannounced, but you left before I could talk to you." he said, smiling.

"I had to pick Lanny up, but come in." She said, walking inside the house.

"Uncle Dave!" Lanny screamed happily, jumping up in the older man arms.

"Hey, how is my favorite girl on this planet?" Dave said, picking Lanny up.

"Did you bring me something?" She asked curiously and innocently since she knew Uncle Dave never came empty handed.

"Lanny!" Emily said in a reprimanding tone, looking at her daughter incredulously.

"Actually I did." David said, with a big smile and placing Lanny down on the floor softly. He reached in his suit pocket and pulled out a big Italian candy bar. The little girls face lit up when he handed her the treat.

"What do you say, Alana?" Emily asked, looking at her daughter intensely.

"Thank you very much, Uncle Dave, I love you." Alana then pressed a kiss on his cheek, and both Emily and Dave laughed.

"Lanny, you can eat that after dinner. Right now, I need you to finish cleaning your room, okay." Emily ordered.

"Okay, mommy. Thanks again, Uncle Dave." And she ran upstairs to do as her mother told her.

"She reminds me so much of you in every possible way." Dave said, watching as the little girl disappeared up the stairs. Emily smiled proudly.

"She can be a handful, but she is the most amazing girl I have ever met." Emily said, she was her daughter, of course, and in her eyes she was perfect.

"Can I offer you coffee, Dave?" Emily asked, walking inside the kitchen as Dave followed her.

"I would love that, thank you." Dave said, sitting down on one of the stools, he watched as Emily started the coffee pot.

You know, I was kind of worried about you, you never take time off, and I know something is not okay. I just wanted to check on you." Dave said, getting straight to the point.

"I had a lot of things to do, that's why I took the week off." Emily said dismissively.

"Is that why Aaron has spent the last few nights at the office?" He asked, profiling her. Emily sighed, she didn't want to tell anyone about what had happened, but Dave was a friend...he was the closest friend she and her family had.

"We're getting divorced, Dave." Emily said, turning around and facing him...Dave's face was in complete and utter shock.

"What did he do?" Dave asked, standing up and walking towards her. Emily just shook her head.

"Emily..." He said, bringing her face to look at him. Dave could see the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"He slept with Kate." She finally said, looking at him as her tears rolled down her face without stopping.


	14. Chapter 14

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 14: More than Friends

It had been almost a month since the news had gotten out about Hotch and Emily's divorce, and as expected, everyone was furious at Hotch, but they couldn't really say anything to him, because he was still technically their boss and Emily had literally begged them not to say anything to him. In Dave's case, it had taken him so much willpower and strength to keep himself from beating the hell out of Aaron that he didn't care if he lost his job. He didn't care if Aaron was his boss, hell, he didn't care that Aaron and he were, at some point, best friends, he was beyond angry with him. The minute Emily told him, Dave had wanted to go directly back to the BAU and beat the living shit out of Aaron, but Emily had literally begged him, crying, not to say anything to him.

But, it was taking every single ounce of self-control he had every minute he was near Aaron. He simply couldn't believe Hotch had cheated on Emily; he couldn't believe he had thrown away a life that many wished to have; he couldn't believe he had been unfaithful to a woman that more than half of the office was crazy about. Hell, even he, at one point, had considered asking Emily, who was a very beautiful woman, out. Of course, she fell in love with his best friend, and he respected her and their relationship too much to pursue her after he realized what was happening. He was happy for them, but he was still a man, and he couldn't stop himself from noticing how utterly beautiful she truly was, and not only that, Emily had an amazing body and was one of the best profilers the BAU had ever had. She was basically the woman everyone wanted, someone he considered the perfect woman and wife.

He wanted so badly to kick Aaron's ass, but he only stopped himself because he had made a promise to Emily and right now, the last thing she needed was more problems and stress, and so, out of respect for her, he didn't do or say anything. He did, however, distance himself from Aaron. Dave had lost a lot of respect for Aaron, and he was very angry at him; Aaron had been his best friend, but Emily was basically like a daughter to him, and he hated what Aaron done to her. So, he acted professionally at work just like everyone else did, but they no longer talked or shared things with Aaron, and Dave didn't care about being around him anymore. If Aaron wanted to drown himself that was up to him, after all, the one who needed support and encouragement was Emily and not him, and he decided to watch after her and the kids since apparently Aaron seem to be too busy to care about his family.

Dave went to Emily's house almost every day to make certain they were getting along okay and that they had everything they needed. He took Emily and Alana out on a few occasions for dinner and even to the park to distract Lanny. Dave wanted to be there for her as much as possible; he wanted to help and support her in this process. Of course, Emily was still in so much pain, she cried every night, and it was obvious she still cared for Aaron very much even after what he had done to her. There were times Dave would see such pain and sadness and wanting in Emily's eyes when she would sneak a look at Aaron, it broke Dave's heart. It made him want to go up to Aaron's office and rip him to shreds, no matter what he had promised to Emily. Dave wanted to help her overcome the hurting and pain, after all, he had gotten divorced three times, and he knew how difficult it was. Even though he often kidded about his divorces, no one knew how painful they had been for him. Emily, of course, was a very strong woman, and he knew eventually she was going to be just fine, but he still wanted to show her that she still had a family in the team and that she wasn't alone. So, he basically took the job of watching over her to make sure she survived, no matter what. In fact, he was watching over her so much that Aaron had noticed, and he wasn't happy at all.

The team was on the jet flying back home from a case in Nebraska, where they had been almost all week, but finally they had put another criminal behind bars and that made them happy. Hotch was furious because Emily had returned to full active duty, but when he talked to Strauss about it, she told him it was Emily's decision, and he couldn't force her to stay behind, and besides that, the point was they would rather have her as an active duty agent that a desk position, since she was one of the most talented assets for the BAU. So, Aaron had no choice but to deal with it, since he knew that talking to Emily would just lead to a fight and more trouble, therefore, he just decided to leave her alone.

The whole team was peacefully settled in the jet, and they just wanted to get home and call it a night. Especially Emily since she had only been back on full active duty for a month and she was exhausted. She had forgotten how hard it was to chase after serial killers, what with the long hours, the stress, and the tiredness. All she wanted to do was go home and cuddle in bed with her baby girl and sleep. She was sitting in one of the corner seats of the jet reading a book when Dave approached her.

"Hey there, how are you? I thought you might need this." He said, placing a cup of hot tea on the little table along with a blanket over her lap.

"Thank you so much, you spoil me way too much." She said, smiling widely. Dave nodded and sat next to her putting his hand lightly over her knee.

"Do you feel better?" He asked, as she had complained earlier that day about having a bad migraine.

"I do, thank you, I'm just tired. I can't wait to get home." She said, smiling and sipping her tea. Dave was truly being so sweet and amazing to her.

"I feel you, kiddo, almost there." He said in a comforting tone, then his eyes landed on the book she was reading.

"I cannot believe you're reading Stephen King, I expected better from you." He said jokingly.

"What? What is your problem with Stephen King?" She asked in shock, looking at the older man with a big smile.

"He is a joke, he can't write anything good besides...stupid horror novels." Dave said, making his point.

"Are you out of your mind! He is the best horror writer in the world, you have issues buddy!" Emily responded.

"Sure, if you can call that fool a writer." Dave said in a joking tone.

"Oh my God, Rossi, I hate you." She said, hitting him gently with the book on his chest...they both were laughing and joking around. Aaron was in the other corner of the jet watching them through piercing eyes. He was so angry he wanted to punch Dave in the face. Why the hell was Dave being so friendly to Emily, and why was he bringing her things, she wasn't handicapped she could get her own things. He was so mad he didn't realize his hand was clinched in a fist. He couldn't stand the fact that Dave was so close to her, and helping her, did he not have any respect for him? He knew he couldn't say anything to him so he tried to let it go, but by the way she was smiling, she seemed so entertained it was making him so crazy inside. He opened his file, and he tried desperately to ignore the situation in front of him.

When Emily finally arrived home, it was almost midnight, she had found a nice babysitter named Sasha, a young woman that was in college and also desired to work for the FBI as a career. Sasha was a good student and she wanted the hours as a babysitter so she could help pay some of her expenses. Of course, Emily paid her very well, and she also had promised to help her get the right contacts for the FBI when she graduated, and in less than a month, they had become friends and had bonded very well. Emily liked Sasha a lot, and so far, she was doing an excellent job...she was very qualified and she was great with Alana. Sasha was sweet and very patient with her, in fact, she was probably more patient that Emily herself. But, a month after Sasha had begun as Alana's babysitter, she had called Emily with a family emergency. Emily had no choice but to call her mother in law. She didn't want to bother Helen, but she didn't trust anyone else with Alana, and Emily knew at some point she had to talk to her about what had happened with Aaron, so she finally called her, and Helen immediately agreed to babysit with Alana, since it had been almost a month since she had seen Lanny.

Emily walked inside her house hoping that both Helen and Lanny were in bed because it truly had been a very rough week, and all she wanted to do was sleep and forget about life for one night. To her surprise, the lights in the kitchen were on and Emily realized the small TV they had in the kitchen was also on. She placed her purse on the table by the door and her go bag on the floor then walked into the kitchen where Helen was quietly watching television.

"Hey, what are you doing up so late?" Emily asked, smiling and walking further into the kitchen.

"Hello, Darling, I was waiting for you." Helen said, standing up from the stool and pulling the brunette into her arms.

"Oh my love, I always get so worried when you guys leave on cases." She smiled sweetly at Emily.

"Where is Aaron?" Helen asked, looking toward the door hoping her son would walk in at any minute.

"Uh...he...he's not coming home tonight." Emily said nervously. Helen didn't know anything about the divorce or the affair.

"Oh my poor boy, That job has him completely absorbed." Helen said, walking toward the stove to warm dinner for Emily.

"Sit down honey, I know you must be exhausted, but you need to eat, you are too skinny, beautifully but too skinny." Helen said, in a motherly tone. Emily just smiled and knew there was no fighting her; she kind of liked that Helen loved her so much since she was the closest thing she had to a mother as her relationship with her own mother wasn't really in the best condition.

"I'm sorry I had to call you last minute, the babysitter had an emergency, and I didn't trust anyone else with Lanny." Emily said, picking up the tea that Helen had just handed her and taking a sip.

"Oh Emily, you never have to be sorry to call me, you know how much I love my grandchildren." Helen said, smiling and serving Emily dinner.

"In fact, I wanted to talk to you about that." Helen said, sitting in front of Emily with a cup of tea for herself. Emily just looked at her in shock, she didn't know how to tell her.

"Have I done something to offend you or Aaron in any way?" Helen asked nervously.

"What?" Emily almost choked on her food.

"No, Helen, of course not, I'm sorry if I made you feel that way." Emily said, reaching over to grab her hand gently.

"Why did you get a babysitter then?" Helen asked.

"I went back to work on full active duty, and I didn't want to bother you since I needed someone to stay with Lanny full time." Emily said honestly, which was true though that wasn't the only reason she had gotten a babysitter.

"That would not have been a problem, sweetie, I would rather have her stay with me anyway." Helen said, sweetly. It was also true...Emily knew her daughter couldn't be in better hands than with her mother in law.

"I know, that's just..." Emily knew she had to be completely honest with Helen.

"What's wrong, dear, oh God, I know something is wrong, just tell me please." Helen almost begged. Emily sighed, looking Helen in the eyes. She trusted Helen with her whole life, she was technically her mom.

"Aaron and I are getting divorced, Helen." Emily said, looking away no longer be able to hide the tears. Helen got up from the stool and ran to her side.

"What happened, sweetheart?" Helen asked, in shock and holding Emily's hands. Emily sighed again, she didn't know how to tell her, she couldn't tell her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Oh my God, he didn't hit you, did he?" Helen asked in concern. Emily just shook her head.

"He cheated on me." Emily finally said.

"Oh my God, Emily, I'm so sorry, darling." Helen said, pulling Emily into her arms. Emily couldn't help it, she completely broke down on Helen's arms. Helen just held her letting her cry until she got everything out of her system, while she rubbed circles on her back. She was so angry with Aaron...this wasn't what she had raised him to be, this was unforgivable, and he was going to hear her out. A little while after Emily had calmed down, she pulled away and Helen held her face in her hands sweetly.

"Listen to me, sweetheart, and listen very well, you are an incredibly amazing and wonderful woman, and I'm so ashamed of my son doing this to you, but you're always going to be my daughter even if you divorce him, do you understand that?" Helen said firmly.

"As far as he is concerned, he is going to listen to me!" She said angrily.

"No, Helen, please, I don't want him to know, I don't want any more problems." Emily begged.

"No, Emily, what he did to you is so unacceptable and unforgivable...that is not the son I raised, and I will not tolerate that from him." She said firmly again.

"I'm here for you, sweetheart, for anything that you want, and it will be an honor if you let me take care of Alana while you go away." Helen said sweetly.

"Thank you so much, Helen, and of course, you can take care of Alana, she adores you." Emily said as Helen whipped her tears.

"Come, let's get you to bed, we'll talk more tomorrow, I need you to sleep right now." Helen said, pulling her hand softly.

They went upstairs, and after Emily checked on her daughter and kissed her good night, she walked into her room with her mother-in-law, going into the bathroom and changing into her pajamas, with Helen sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Come on sweetie, come to bed." Helen said, patting the bed. Emily was so tired that she obeyed without objection.

Emily rested her head on the pillow, and Helen sat down next to her running her hands in her hair and down her back.

"You are a very strong woman and you'll get through this, and I'll help you honey." Helen said sweetly. Emily couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down her eyes; Helen was so amazing to her, she wished she could have had this type of relationship with her own mother, but she had enough with Helen, she was acting just like her mother should, and it felt so soothing.

"Thank you so much, Helen." Emily said, squeezing her hand gently.

"You have nothing to thank me for, darling, I'm going to stay a few weeks to take care of my girls, that is...if you don't mind." She told Emily soothingly.

"We would love to have you stay." Emily said in a sleepy voice.

"Try to sleep, honey, I'm here now to help you through this." Emily closed her eyes feeling calmer, that was for sure. Having Helen around was always a blast, and she already felt safer. Helen stayed with Emily until she fell asleep, then she left the room and went to the room they had set aside as her room at the house for when she came to spend some time with them. Helen was so angry at what Aaron had done, but one thing was for sure, he definitely was going to hear from her, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

The next day, Emily woke up early and helped Helen make breakfast for everyone, then she went to wake up her baby girl so she could spend most of the morning with her. That same morning, Aaron had texted her asking to see Alana. A few weeks ago, he had told her he didn't want to go through a lawyer to have visitation with Alana and she agreed they could try that, and he usually picked Alana up once a week. When he picked Alana up, Emily always managed to not be home, She had enough of seeing him at work everyday. It still hurt her so deeply to see him and to remember that he had desired another woman rather than her, and it made her remember that she still loved him just as much as she ever did. Things had changed so much since they had separated; however, Emily had managed to be strong enough to keep the children away from all the trouble. Haley had, of course, found out about the separation and impending divorce by now since Jack was staying at Aaron's apartment the weeks he was supposed to be with the Hotchner family. Haley wasn't happy with Aaron, but their agreement with Jack had nothing to do with Aaron and Emily's situation, so Haley was still obligated to let Jack spend time with his father. Jack, however, didn't understand what was going on and he couldn't understand why daddy wasn't living at his old house where he had his room. Aaron had tried to explain it to him in such a way that he could understand, telling him that Emily and him were having a rough patch and a few issues at the moment, so they had decided to take some time apart from each other and try and settle those issues.

Jack wasn't happy, of course, he had always been a very smart boy, and he didn't like the idea of his dad and Emily taking time away from each other. He loved Emily and wanted to be with her as well, and he wanted his old room at their house, with all his things there, Aaron had managed to get new things for him, but it wasn't the same. He wanted to be with Lanny and his Emmy, and he simply couldn't understand why he had to live in a different apartment, and he was very mad at his dad. If his dad was mad at Emily, and they wanted time apart that was fine, but what did that have to do with him, why did he have to move, too? Emily, of course. knew this was affecting Jack, and she had managed to convince Haley to let her take Jack a couple times a month to spend time with her and Lanny, and Haley agreed. Haley felt pretty sorry for Emily; she still couldn't believe Aaron had cheated on her; Haley had always thought Aaron was an amazing man, but after this, she wasn't sure anymore. She just knew that Emily didn't deserve this. Despite the fact that Emily was her former husband's wife, she liked Emily, she had been amazing to Jack and for that she was very grateful, because Emily treated Jack as her biological son.

Around eleven in the morning, Emily left the house...she had texted Aaron telling him to pick Lanny up around noon, but she had not told Aaron that his mother was staying with them for awhile. She was sure Helen was going to go off on him, but to be honest she didn't care, one thing was the team, but she couldn't forbid his own mother from speaking to her son, so she left around eleven. Emily had some errands to run, and she didn't want to be home when Aaron got there. Helen agreed to meet Aaron and let him take Alana when he got there, and she sure needed to talk to him.

Aaron arrived at twelve noon on the dot; he knocked on the door and was very surprised when it was his mother who greeted him.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" He asked, in shock as he leaned down to kiss and hug his mother, but Helen pulled away.

"I'm here helping Emily with Alana...something you should be doing." Helen said, walking into the kitchen. Aaron closed his eyes and sighed...she knew everything.

"Where is Alana?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Upstairs getting ready." Helen said coldly.

"And Emily?" He asked, getting jealous, probably with Rossi, he thought.

"Why do you care where she is, after what you did to her?" Helen asked, continuing into the kitchen so Alana would not hear what she was about to say or do, in case she came down.

"Mother, I know you don't understand...this...but..." but, he wasn't able to finish because Helen slapped him right across the face, leaving him stunned.

"How could you have done something so low?" She asked angrily. But, Aaron was speechless from the shock! He couldn't believe his own mother had slapped him.

'This isn't what I raised you for, I'm so ashamed of the monster you have become." She told him angrily

"Mom, I wish I could explain to you..." But, Helen did not even let him speak.

"Don't explain anything to me, you've turned out just like your father!" She hissed, looking at him through piercing eyes. _Ouch, low blow. _That really hurt him, his father was an alcoholic that used to hit him and his mother and cheated on Helen more times than he could remember.

"I'm nothing like him!" Aaron angrily defended himself.

"Oh really? Throwing your life away for a cheap night's affair? Cheating on the woman that you're supposed to love, protect and cherish? Betraying your family for some cheap slut? That sounds exactly like your father to me!" Helen said indignantly.

Aaron was about to answer her when Lanny came running down the stairs.

"Hi daddy." Lanny said shyly and quietly. It wasn't his usual cheerful daughter that came and greeted him.

"Hi baby." Aaron said, picking her up and just holding her.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

Lanny nodded sadly...she didn't really want to go, but her mother had told her that she had to go with daddy just for today, and that she promised when she came home that night, they could watch a movie and be together, and they could watch a movie with Gramma Helen, too, which would be so much fun.

Aaron couldn't continue his conversation with his mother since Lanny had come down, but he knew she was furious, and now she hated him, too. He felt so sad because he knew he would have such an enormous task convincing the two most important woman in his life besides Lanny what had really happened with Foyet when he could finally tell them. Up until this time, he and his mother had always had an excellent relationship and now that was gone. Aaron was sure Helen was going to resent him for a long time because his mother adored Emily in every possible way; she liked Emily much more than she ever liked Haley. He decided to leave and spend as much time as he could with his daughter before he had to return her to Emily.

Meanwhile, Emily was having dinner with Derek...they had become very close friends after what had happened, and he liked to spend time with her and with Lanny, too. Derek and Emily were basically like brother and sister, and he adored Lanny even more than he loved the mother. Derek and Dave had been a blessing in disguise for her because they both had supported her and her daughter by constantly checking on her to make sure she had everything she needed, and they were always taking her and Alana out for dinner just to keep them distracted.

Morgan, of course, had always been secretly in love with Emily, but, how could he not be...she was so utterly beautiful and amazing that any man would be in love with her. Morgan couldn't believe Hotch was so stupid that he cheated on a woman like Emily. He couldn't believe Hotch had thrown such an amazing family in the trash for a substitute Haley lookalike who obviously didn't think much of herself if she would have an affair with an obviously happily married man. Everyone knew that Kate must have made the first moves on Aaron because even though they were all angry at him, they still believed he wasn't a skirt chaser and wouldn't have made the first move on her. Morgan always thought that Hotch had it all, one of the most desired jobs in the country, a perfect life, a beautiful home, an incredibly beautiful wife and gorgeous children...he had it all, then, how could he have been so stupid and selfish to not think about them when he cheated on Emily. He, too, had constantly stopped himself from beating the hell out of Hotch, but just as Rossi had, he stopped himself out of respect for Emily.

Tonight, they were having dinner...he had called Emily to take her and Lanny out for dinner, but since Aaron was going to take Alana for the day, it was only him and Emily. They went to an Italian bistro, one of Emily's favorite restaurants in D.C. Emily really enjoyed going out with her friends because she didn't want to stay home and cry over Aaron anymore; she knew she had to move on and she would always see Morgan as a friend and she enjoyed his company a lot. Tonight, she was wearing a nice black cocktail dress, and she looked absolutely beautiful. Of course, it was just a friendly dinner, but Morgan couldn't help but notice how beautiful she truly was, and he had also gotten some flowers for her. They were daisies, which happened to be her favorite, and they showed nothing more than friendship, because he knew that even if he was secretly in love with her, Emily would never stop loving Aaron.

They had dinner and even caught a movie and since it had been a while since Emily had so much fun, she truly was so grateful that Morgan was in her life. She was so lucky to have such great friends that loved her and her daughter so much. She knew that this process had been so much easier with all her family around her, even Spence, JJ and Garcia had shown an incredible amount of support to her and Lanny. The team truly was her family and she had never felt so loved and supported in her life. And now, with Helen in her house, things couldn't be better. The movie was over, and she and Derek decided to go home, so she would be there to spend some time with Alana when she got home.

Around eight o'clock Aaron dropped Alana off at his old house. His mother greeted him again and was still acting very cold and distant with him, but he couldn't blame her, he truly had hurt Emily and his mother very much, and he wasn't surprised that they hated him so much. He dropped Lanny off and left; he knew this was just going to get harder because even Lanny was starting to act weird and uncomfortable with him. Aaron closed his eyes and sighed...he needed to get Foyet...because he wasn't sure if he could take the situation much longer.

While driving home, around the corner from his old house, he turned around in his SUV and realized that Lanny had left her backpack in his car. Lanny had taken it with her because she had school the day, and she had to do homework which Aaron helped her with. He made a u-turn and returned to the house knowing that he had to take the backpack to Alana since she would need it for school.

He was just parking in the driveway of the house when another vehicle arrived, and Aaron realized it looked exactly like Morgan's Lexus. Maybe it was because it was, indeed, Morgan's car. Aaron watched as Morgan opened the passenger door for Emily, and then how Emily got out of the car and his eyes landed on the black dress she was wearing and the bouquet of flowers she was carrying. They were on a date! Aaron's eyes turned livid, and his heart started beating really fast...he couldn't believe Morgan had the gall to not even wait until they were finally divorced to pursue Emily! Aaron couldn't take this anymore, he wouldn't tolerate him putting his hand around or anywhere near HIS WIFE! Aaron angrily got out of the car and started walking toward them unable to control himself. It was then that Emily was aware of his presence.

"Aaron, what are you doing here?" She asked in shock, but he didn't respond, he walked straight towards Morgan.

"Hotch what's going on, man?" Morgan asked in shock, too.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing taking my wife out!?" Aaron said, as his hand landed in a fist on Morgan's face.


	15. Chapter 15

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 15: Breaking Point

He was just parking in the driveway of the house when another vehicle arrived, and Aaron realized it looked exactly like Morgan's Lexus. Maybe it was because it was, indeed, Morgan's car. Aaron watched as Morgan opened the passenger door for Emily, and then how Emily got out of the car and his eyes landed on the black dress she was wearing and the bouquet of flowers she was carrying. They were on a date! Aaron's eyes turned livid, and his heart started beating really fast...he couldn't believe Morgan had the gall to not even wait until they were finally divorced to pursue Emily! Aaron couldn't take this anymore, he wouldn't tolerate him putting his hand around or anywhere near HIS WIFE! Aaron angrily got out of the car and started walking toward them unable to control himself. It was then that Emily was aware of his presence.

"Aaron, what are you doing here?" She asked in shock, but he didn't respond, he walked straight towards Morgan.

"Hotch, what's going on, man?" Morgan asked in shock, too.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing taking my wife out!?" Aaron yelled, as his fist landed on Morgan's face.

What the hell is wrong with you?' Emily hissed in shock...unfortunately that wasn't going to stop the two males. Morgan was in shock, he couldn't believe Hotch had punched him. Up until now, he had controlled himself around Hotch and had kept himself from doing anything against him out of respect for Emily, but Hotch had just crossed the line and broken that control.

"What the hell is your problem?" Morgan screamed, throwing a punch to Hotch's face as well, which Hotch was able to evade.

"Stay away from her, or I will kill you!" Aaron warned, hovering over Morgan.

"I'm not scared of you, man. If I stopped myself before, it was because of her request of us not to say anything, but if it was up to me, I would kick your ass all over this city! And, you deserve much more than that for what you've done to her!" Morgan said, looking at Hotch with a defiant look.

"You just try it." Hotch said, furiously pushing Morgan. "Noooooo, please stop, Derek, please...Aaron stop!" Emily begged, crying, but it was too late, both men started wrestling...it almost seemed like they wanted to kill each other. Morgan successfully punched Aaron in the face as both fell down on the ground, half on the concrete and half in the grass.

Emily was terrified screaming at them to stop, and begging them, crying...she had to stop them. She knew them both from years of working with them, and she knew they were both excellent fighters, but she also knew her ex-husband better than anyone in her life, and she knew that as angry as he was, Aaron wasn't going to stop until he killed Morgan.

"Aaron, please stop, please, I'm begging you." She cried, while trying to separate both males. Helen came out having heard all the commotion and noise and saw the two profilers battling each other like warriors. Between her and Emily, they managed to pull the guys apart, but they were both still looking at each other with hatred.

"Get the hell out of my house before I kill you." Aaron screamed furiously.

"This isn't your house anymore, asshole, you cheated on her, or don't you remember that little fact?" Emily had to step in front of Aaron to stop him from going after Morgan again after Morgan came out with those choice words. Emily turned around and directed some words of her own to Morgan:

"Derek, please leave, thank you for everything you've done for us, but please leave so I can get this settled down and under control." Emily begged.

"Are you kidding me, Emily, you're going to defend him after what he did to you?" Morgan replied, looking at her in shock. He couldn't believe Emily was taking Hotch's side after what had just happened and what he had cheated on her with Kate Joyner. After all the support he had given her!

"Please, Derek, do it for me, just leave." Emily begged again, still crying. Derek shook his head angrily, getting into his car angrily slamming the door and squealing tires out of the driveway.

"What the hell do you think you are doing coming into my house and causing such a despicable scene and starting a fight with one of my best friends when he was not doing one thing to hurt you or me?" Emily screamed at Aaron furiously.

" Me! What am I doing!? You couldn't even wait until we were officially divorced to jump into bed with one of my friends?" He hissed angrily. As those words left Aaron's mouth, Emily slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

"I'm not your fucking wife anymore, you have no rights over me." Emily screamed and immediately burst out crying even harder. Helen rushed to her side trying to stop her as she was afraid Emily wanted to kill Aaron, too.

"Emily,.." Aaron tried to explain.

"No, don't Aaron, you slept with your friend Kate and betrayed me BEFORE we were even separated, so, I have the same rights to move on with my life if I want to with Derek or with whomever I damn well please." Emily said, even though she had no intention of doing anything of the sort...she still loved him too much to ever do that to him.

"NOW...get the hell out of my house!" Emily screamed.

"Emily, please..." Aaron begged again.

"Aaron, just leave, please." Helen hissed furiously, taking Emily inside the house to try and get her calmed down before Lanny woke up and saw her so upset. Aaron had no choice but to go, so, he got in his car and left. Aaron was beyond mad...he was so mad, in fact, he was shaking. But, more than anger, he was heartbroken; he couldn't believe Emily had gotten over him so quickly; he also couldn't believe she hated him so much that she decided to date one of his best friends. He understood that after what he had done to her, she would have all the rights to want to hurt him and possibly move on with her life...he always knew there was that risk, and he went ahead with his plan knowing that. But dating one of his best friends was something that really hurt him. Aaron thought he had felt pain in his life before when he and Haley separated and divorced, but his heart was shattering in pieces with this pain. He wanted to die from this pain, it felt like it was splitting his heart in two. This pain was so much worse than the pain he had felt throughout his divorce from Haley, and he couldn't believe it. A voice inside him told him, and it finally hit him in the middle of his chest...it was _**the same kind of pain she was probably feeling when you told her you cheated on her**__._ He was beginning to understand how she could love him and hate him at the same time, and he could understand the pain in her eyes every time he looked at her and why it never went away.

Aaron drove to his apartment as tears rolled down his face, he truly realized he wasn't sure how much more he was going to be able to live with this and stay sane. He had to do something!

Helen sat Emily in the couch trying to make her calm down, she was very affected by what just happened, and Helen needed to get her settled down before she had a panic attack or worse. Helen was so mad at her son, she couldn't believe he was causing so much pain to a woman that had probably saved his life and turned his life around after his divorce from Haley and losing his close relationship with Jack. Helen thought his actions right now made him truly not deserve her at all.

"Sit down, darling, I'll make you some tea so you'll feel better." Helen said soothingly.

"Where's Lanny?" Emily asked, between wracking sobs.

"She's sleeping, she was asleep when Aaron brought her home." Helen replied in a comforting tone, Emily nodded, she didn't want her daughter to witness any of what just happened. Helen went into the kitchen and got some chamomile and honey tea for Emily.

"Here honey, drink this." Helen said, sitting down next to her and handing her the tea.

"I'm so sorry about all the pain my son is inflicting on you. I never imagined he was capable of doing this." Helen said sadly.

"I should not have gone to dinner with Derek." Emily said, as more and more tears rolled down her face.

"Oh no, honey, don't blame yourself for this, you have every right to enjoy yourself and to move on with your life." Helen told her honestly, and it was true; Emily was an amazing person...if her son didn't see that, it was his problem...Emily deserved to be happy.

"No Helen, Derek is just a good friend, and he'll always be just that, and I'll never date anyone ever again." Emily said sadly. But, Helen could see it in her eyes very well...

"You still love Aaron, don't you?" Helen asked.

"I'll never be able to stop loving him, but I'll never forgive him for cheating on me, and hurting me and his children so much." Emily stated, with her eyes full of tears.

"Why are you crying, mommy?" Lanny had woken up, and she was on the stairs looking at her mother with very scared eyes. Emily tried to wipe her eyes and pretend she was fine.

"What are you doing up, baby?" Emily asked, standing up from the couch as Alana ran into her arms.

"I heard you crying, what's wrong, mommy, why did daddy hurt you?" Her baby girl asked, concern spread across her innocent baby face. Emily and Helen exchanged worried and nervous looks

"Nothing is wrong, baby, and no one hurt me, let's take you back to bed, okay?" Emily asked her daughter.

"Nooooooooo, I want to stay with you, I don't like it when mommy cries." Lanny said, as she started to cry.

"Oh baby, everything is fine, I promise you, mommy is fine." Emily pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly as the little girl clung to her mother and held her as tight as she could.

"Let's go to sleep, okay? You can sleep with mommy tonight." Emily soothed, rubbing circles on her daughter's back. Great, the last thing she needed was her daughter hurt and affected by her daddy's stupidity.

"Let's say goodnight to Gramma." They both said good night to Helen and kissed her goodnight, then Emily took her daughter to her room. Once she changed into her pajamas, she joined her daughter in the bed. Lanny immediately cuddled in her mother's arms.

"Try to sleep, okay, baby?" Emily quietly said, sweetly kissing her daughter's forehead.

"Mommy, is daddy a bad person?" That really stung her heart...she couldn't believe her daughter was asking her that.

"No baby, of course not, why do you ask that?" She asked in shock.

"He makes you cry a lot, you're sad all the time because of daddy, and he doesn't come home anymore." The little girl said, and Emily sighed.

"Lanny baby, your dad and I are not getting along right now, and we decided it was better for him to move out for a little while so we didn't fight, but we love each other vey much and we love YOU more than life itself." She told her daughter, hugging her.

"I fight with Jack sometimes, can I move out?" Lanny asked innocently...that made Emily laugh out loud.

"No, sweetheart, it's not the same, you guys are brother and sister, and Jack loves you very much. For adults it's different." She explained.

"Mommy, I love you, and I won't let anyone hurt you, not even daddy." Lanny told her mother, and that broke Emily's heart even more; she pulled Lanny into her arms as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. If she wasn't going to forgive him ever, this had just made everything worse, it was one thing to hurt her, but now he was hurting their daughter, too.

"Don't worry baby, no one is going to hurt me." Emily kissed her daughter and pulled her tightly against her. Soon they both fell asleep, but not before Emily thought about Lanny being hurt because she herself was hurting so much deep inside it was now obvious to her daughter's eyes.

The next day at the BAU, things got a little tense. Dave had found out about the fight between Morgan and Hotch, but what he couldn't believe was that Hotch had gotten so far out of control. This was way too much...he had not wanted to intervene before, but as mad as he was with Aaron, he was still his best friend, and he was very worried about him. He cared for him, after all; Aaron had lost a lot of weight, he was always in a bad mood and snappy, and Dave had a feeling for a while now that there was something else going on, not just the situation with Emily. Hotch was acting out of control, and he had sometimes been reckless in the field; he was truly destroying his life, and most of the team had distanced themselves from him. Dave knew that Hotch probably felt very empty and alone, and even after what he did, Dave still cared for him...everyone made mistakes, and he knew that deep inside, Aaron wasn't a bad person, maybe Dave just needed to straight him out a little bit. Although he knew that wouldn't repair the relationship between him and Emily, at least, maybe he could talk some sense into him. So, he went to Aaron's office after everyone was occupied with other things pretending he needed to talk to him about a case.

"Sorry to bother you, but Erin gave me these cases, I thought these might interest you." Dave said, handing him the files, becoming aware of the bruises Aaron had on his face and hands.

"Thanks, Dave, I'll review them later tonight," He told him dismissively.

Dave, however, remained there looking at him sadly knowing he truly needed help.

"You know you're not going to get Emily to forgive you by cheating on her or fighting with Morgan...that's just going to distance her from you even more." He said, sitting in the chair across from Aaron putting his ankle on his knee ready to stay awhile without waiting for permission. Aaron didn't respond, he just kept working on his files.

"Why did you cheat on Emily, you've always been head over heels in love with her?" He asked, still in disbelief that Aaron would have actually done that.

"Dave, I'm kind of busy here." Aaron stated without even looking up at him.

"You are messing everything up even worse ...what the hell is wrong with you?" Dave asked in shock.

"I thought you loved Emily more than life itself." Dave stated incredulously.

"I DO!" He finally responded, but Dave could see the tears that were forming in his best friend's eyes. Something was very wrong.

"Then why, Aaron?" He asked again.

"Look Dave, if you're here to tell me I'm a monster like everyone else has already done, I already know I am...if that's all, please leave, I really have a lot of work." He told Dave angrily.

"I never said that." Dave said sadly, it truly pained him to see Aaron in so much pain.

"Please leave, Dave, I need to finish this." Aaron said, without looking at him. Dave just nodded and left.

Dave walked into his own office and sat there thinking that something was very wrong with Aaron...something was odd. He had a feeling Aaron was lying about something and he knew what it was, or he had an idea. He had to be sure, it kind of made sense, but he had to be sure first. One thing was sure, he wasn't going to leave his friend alone anymore, he needed help, and he was about to lose himself completely, and no matter whatever it took, he was going to help his friend.

Around two that day, everyone left for lunch...Emily drove away going to a restaurant she knew he would be at. She had not talked to him since last night, and she wanted to clear things between them; she felt she owed him an explanation. She parked her car and walked inside the restaurant where she spotted Derek sitting in a corner drinking a soda and going over his files. She walked over to where he was sitting and stopped next to him.

"May I sit here?" Emily asked, and Morgan looked up. He couldn't believe she was there...honestly, the last thing he wanted to do was talk to her.

"Please..." She insisted...Morgan nodded, signaling with his hand to tell her she could sit.

"Derek, I know you're upset with me about what happened yesterday..." She started sadly...he didn't said anything, he just kept looking down.

"...I never intended for you and Aaron to get into a physical fight." Emily apologized.

"Do you still love him?" Derek asked angrily.

"Derek, please..." She begged.

"Answer me, Emily." He demanded, looking at her incredulously.

"Derek, I'm sorry for what I am going to tell you, but you have no right to ask me that, as well as you have no right being angry. I never gave you any hopes for anything between us, and you know that." She said honestly.

"You and Dave, as well as the rest of the team, have showed me a lot of support over the last couple of months, but that was as friends, Derek." She pointed out.

"I never gave you any signs or led you on in any way whatsoever, and it makes me really sad that would even do this to me at this time." She said looking at him, and she was right, she had never led him on in any way or let him believe she wanted a relationship with him.

"He doesn't deserve you." Morgan told her angrily.

"Maybe that is true but that doesn't change the fact that the only thing I feel for you is a tremendous a mount of respect and friendship and that is all, even if Aaron wasn't in the way." Derek looked at her intensely because that kind of hurt him, but he appreciated her honesty.

"Look, you're one of my best friends, and I have always loved you like a brother, I never meant to hurt you in any way." Emily told Morgan as a few tears began rolling down her face, and that really hurt Morgan...,but he didn't want to cause her any more pain.

"Emily, you're right, you've never led me in on, or given me any signals of anything other than friendship." Morgan said sadly.

"Derek, please don't let this change or end our friendship." She pleaded.

"You'll always love him no matter what he does, right?" Morgan knew he shouldn't have asked that, but he needed to know.

"Derek, I won't deny that I'll always love him, but I'll never be able to forgive him...having said that, I'll never date anyone or be interested in anyone else. I just can't see myself getting close enough to anyone else to trust them enough to be interested in dating again, and yes, he did that to me." She said, trying to sound as polite as she could.

Derek nodded sadly, he knew she was referring to him. She would never lay eyes on him as more than a friend, no matter what, but at least he could have her as a friend.

"Let's eat something and start from zero...deal?" Morgan asked, trying to smile.

"I would like that." Emily said, smiling. They had lunch together and tried to talk a little bit more. Of course, Derek was still hurt, but he tried to hide how affected he was by what Emily had just told him.

A week after that, things were still a little tense in the BAU. Morgan was being very professional with Hotch, but every time they saw each other, they looked at each other like they wanted to kill each other. Morgan, of course, was trying to be very professional, but he was furious at Aaron...he hated him now more than ever, he ha even had thoughts of wanting to kill him. Emily didn't deserve to be treated like Aaron had treated her, and he was sure that Aaron surely didn't deserve a woman like Emily. Morgan just wished Emily, at some point, would stop being so in love with him, even if he had already lost hope on ever being with her, he desperately wanted her to be happy.

Emily, however, was still hurting, she missed Aaron more than ever, she felt lonely and she missed her best friend...the man with which she had shared almost eight years of her life. She still couldn't believe that he had cheated on her, that he had betrayed her with Kate Joyner and maybe still was and had broken their wedding vows. It pained her so much to think about him, mostly because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop loving him and she couldn't hate him either. In fact, she still loved him the same way she had always loved him, if not more...it was like an obsession for her, but she had to let him go, she had to try for her own good to let him go, especially because now it was really affecting the kids.

Aaron had wanted to take Alana for the night. Emily was very dubious at first, she didn't really want to let him take his daughter for the night, but she also knew that he was incapable of hurting his children, and he deserved to see them. After all, they were his kids, too, and he deserved to be with them. Helen had an errand to take care of, and she was unable to take Lanny to her father, or to wait at home until he picked her up, and Emily tried to find other solutions as long as it wasn't her that had to see him. She knew it was kind of immature, but she was still hurting so much, she didn't want to put herself through the pain, or to let him see that she was still so affected by him. But, in the end, she couldn't find anyone to take Lanny to meet her dad, so she ended up taking her daughter to Aaron.

She agreed to meet him at the park since he was going to be at one of Jack's soccer games. He was going to watch the game, take both of his children for dinner and a movie and spend the night with them , since he had not really spent time with them, and he really needed to see them. Emily had agreed to that, and she told Aaron she would drop Lanny off at the game. Around three in the afternoon, she drove to the park with her baby girl, taking a bag for her with her things she will need to spend the night at her dad's. Lanny wasn't pleased when her mom told her she had to spend the night with her dad, but Emily told her she had to be good and spend the night with her daddy because her daddy had missed her and wanted to see her and Jack .

She arrived at the park and parked her car nearby, then helped Lanny out of the car and started walking toward the bleachers; she really didn't want to see Aaron, but she knew she had no choice. Aaron stood up when he saw her walking toward him.

"Emily, hi, the game is almost over, Jack wants to say hi." Aaron said, greeting her smiling shyly, he knew she was still mad at him for the scene he had made at his old house. Emily just nodded.

"Hey, sweetheart." He said, directing all his love to his daughter. Lanny, however, remained with her mother looking at him like he was a stranger, clinging onto her mother's leg and hiding her face in her legs.

"Sweetie, say goodbye to mommy so you guys can go have fun with your dad." Emily said, but Lanny didn't move.

"Come on, baby, let's go." Aaron said, getting on his knees trying to get his daughter's attention, but Lanny just shook her head clinging tighter onto her mother.

"Alana, please honey, you need to go with your dad tonight, baby, we talked about this." Emily said, getting on her knees as well and trying to get Alana's attention. Just in that moment Jack came running toward them.

"Emmmyyyyyyy." He screamed happily, clinging onto her other side.

"Hey baby, how are you?" She asked while kissing the boy.

"Good, when can I spend the night with you?" Jack asked sadly.

"Maybe next week honey, tonight you guys have to go with your dad, okay?" She said sadly it relay pained her family like this.

"Come on, Lanny, mommy has to go, go with your dad, please, you'll have such a good time, and Jack will be there with you...you've been wanting to see him." She ordered.

"Noooooo...I don't want to go with him..." The little girl said.

"Alana, please." Emily tried to pull her away from her as Aaron tried to grab her, but that had been a very bad idea. Lanny started screaming like she was terrified.

"Nooooo, Nooo, Nooo, mommy, please don't make me go with him, please, mommy." She started crying uncontrollably.

"Hey baby, stop, stop, please don't cry." She said, picking her daughter up.

"I don't want to go with him, please...mommy." Her daughter begged, clinging to her mother like Aaron was a complete stranger to her, and she was terrified of him.

"Ok, ok, ok, just calm down please, calm down, baby." She said soothingly, hugging her daughter tightly.

"I can't force her to go with you, I'm so sorry." Emily told Aaron, looking at him sadly. Aaron just stood there watching how his own daughter was afraid of him, and that broke his heart into a million pieces.

"Let's go, Jack." He ordered walking away, but Jack didn't move.

"I want to go with Emily." He said, moving closer to her.

"Jack, please, you have to go with your dad." Emily told him.

"I don't want to go with him, please, let me go with you. Emmy, please." Jack told Emily, as heavy tears started to roll down his cheeks.

"Jack, don't do that, please, baby, you have to be good and go with your dad." Emily said, holding Alana who was still crying in her arms.

"Please, Emmy, don't you love me, is that why you don't want me to go with you?" Jack asked her while crying.

"Oh honey, don't be that way, please, I love you very much, but you have to be with your dad, too, because he loves you very much and wants to spend time with you." Emily said, hugging him, too.

"It's okay, Emily, let him go with you." Aaron finally said, and she could see the sadness on his face and the pain in his eyes.

"Aaron, no, it's fine, let me talk to him." She told him.

"No, it's okay, I'll call and have Haley pick him up at your house, I'm sorry." Aaron said with tears rolling down his face.

"Aaron, wait..." She told him, it broke her heart to see how devastated he was, but he walked away without listening to her. Leaving Emily alone with both kids crying in the park, crying because they didn't want to be with him.

Emily watched as he left, feeling terrible; this was very painful for him, after all, she didn't want to see him suffer like that because the children didn't want to be with him. He was a great father after all, and didn't deserve that, but she knew she couldn't force the kids to go with him.

She drove home with both kids, but she was feeling sadder and emptier; she had to find a way to fix this, this was now affecting the kids, and her and Aaron. She had to talk to both of the kids when they got home to make them understand that they couldn't be like that with their father. It had really broken her heart to see Aaron so overwhelmed with pain and suffering because his children didn't even want to go home with him or spend time with him. She knew that devastated him, and she still loved him and didn't want to see him suffer for something the children couldn't even fathom or begin to understand, and they were doing it because they thought their daddy was hurting their mommy, when he wasn't in a way that they could understand.

She made dinner for both kids and sent them to take a shower. Once they were showered and gotten ready for bed, she told them she would tuck them in and read them a story. She first went into Alana's room sitting on the bed next to her daughter.

"Honey, mommy needs to talk to you." She told her daughter.

"Okay, mommy." Lanny said sadly.

"Lanny, I don't like that you don't want to be with your dad, he loves and misses you very much." Emily told her daughter.

"But he makes you sad." Lanny said, pouting.

"Is that why you didn't want to go with him?" Emily asked quietly.

Lanny just nodded, looking down at her clasped hands.

"Sweetie, he doesn't make me sad, we've already talked about this. Your daddy and I are taking a break right now, but this has nothing to do with you." Emily said, bringing her face to look at her.

"Don't you love your daddy?" She asked.

"I do, but I don't like to see you sad." Lanny said softly.

"It makes me sadder that you behaved like this to him because I know your daddy loves you beyond anything, and I know he misses you all the time." She said firmly.

"I'm sorry, mommy." Lanny, said hugging her mom.

"You don't have to be sorry, baby, but you need to be good to your dad and love him, no matter what, okay?" She said.

"Okay, mommy, I'll go with him the next time. I really miss him, too." Lanny replied, smiling finally.

"Go to bed for now, okay, we'll find another day for you guys to spend time, okay?" She said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight love." Emily said, walking out of her daughter's room and going into Jack's room. She walked inside Jack's room and watched the little boy already sitting on his bed. She walked on in sitting next to Jack, as well.

"Are you mad at me for not going with my dad?" Jack asked sadly. Jack was very smart and perceptive, and he knew very well Emily had come into his room to talk to him.

"No, sweetheart, I'm not mad at you, but I do need to talk to you." Emily told him gently...Jack just looked at her.

'Why didn't you want to go with your dad?" She asked...with Jack things were different, he was older and much smarter and open minded.

"Because he left you like he left me and my mommy." He told Emily. She was surprised at his honesty.

"Jack, your dad didn't leave me, I asked him to leave." Emily replied looking at Jack intensely.

"Why?" He asked innocently.

"Because we needed some time apart from each other." She explained.

"Did he make you mad?" Jack asked curiously.

"Something like that, yeah." Emily said with a small smile.

"He should buy you flowers or chocolates, that will make you not mad at him."

Emily smiled at his innocence.

"Maybe he should, huh?" She told him, running her hand over his hair playfully.

"Jack, the fact that your daddy and I are mad at each other has nothing to do with you or Alana. You guys made your dad very sad today, you hurt his feelings very badly because he loves both you and Lanny very much." She told Jack because she knew he was old enough to understand things.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just missed you a lot, and my room." He admitted sadly.

"Baby, you can come to see me anytime you want and stay with me, you know that, but not when your daddy has you, that is the time for him to be with you. You just have to make sure your mom is okay with it." Emily told him.

"Okay, I'm sorry for hurting him, I really didn't mean to." Jack said sadly.

"I know you didn't, sweetie, go to sleep, we'll call your daddy tomorrow and apologize to him, okay?" She said, as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Emmy." Jack told her softly.

"I love you, too, baby, good night." Emily walked out of the room, going downstairs. She was truly sad for what had happened that afternoon, tears started rolling down her cheeks, and before she could stop herself, Emily pulled out her phone and dialed the phone, hearing the voice mail begin...

"_You have reached Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI, leave a message after the tone."_

She hung up the phone as tears rolled down her cheeks...she knew he was hurting and was hurting badly.

Aaron was driving aimlessly as heavy tears rolled down his cheeks...he couldn't tolerate this situation any longer, he wasn't going to do this anymore. He had lost the woman that he loved the most in his life and his mother, too; he had lost the respect of his friends and his team; he had lost everything he had ever fought for, and now he had lost the love of his children, too. Aaron felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he remembered the way his own kids were terrified of him, the fear they saw when they saw him. He remembered the hatred he saw in Emily's eyes every time she saw him; he was losing everything he ever worked for; he couldn't stand this situation any longer, he wasn't going to sit there as his family was torn apart and taken away from him; he wasn't going to lose what he had fought for his entire life. He was going to fight for them, he was going to get his family back, and he was going to go after the person that took everything away from him.

_He was going to go after Foyet._


	16. Chapter 16

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 16: Missing

Emily walked into the BAU around eight in the morning after taking the previous day off to take Alana to her doctor's appointments and to run another couple of errands. Things had been a little off since her separation from Aaron, even their usual routine was affected because they used to share all their responsibilities equally regarding the kids, but apparently Aaron seemed to have forgotten he had a daughter. Emily also had a school appointment with Alana for a parents/teacher conference...something they used to do as a couple, but he had also forgotten that. Emily had attempted to get in touch with him a few nights ago about the incident at the park. She had wanted to apologize for what had happened because she knew that their children's rejection had truly devastated Aaron, and although she was still very angry and hurt by him, she didn't want to see him suffer. But, he had not bothered to answer any of her calls, not even the one where she called to see if he wanted to go to the parents conference at school with her since Alana was still his daughter. She thought he would care about that, but apparently she was wrong.

The one thing that pained her the most was the fact that he didn't seem to be interested in seeing his children at all, when even before the incident, he used to always be home to put the kids to bed and read them a story. They used to have dinner together as a family, something that he used to enforce. But, apparently that woman was more important to him now than his children. Emily still couldn't stop crying every night because of him, and she wasn't sure when she would be able to forgive him or even if she would be able to, especially now that she saw how little he cared about his own daughter. But, she wasn't going to force him to see Alana, who was already sad that her daddy wasn't around anymore. It was his choice if he wanted to completely forget about her.

So, Emily walked into the BAU hoping she could have a peaceful day and get home to her beautiful princess. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her since the absence of her father was already affecting her. Emily was hoping if she could go home at a decent hour, she could pick Lanny up at school and have a date with her daughter. She was planning on maybe taking her for dinner to a nice child friendly restaurant, and then take her shopping for new clothes and shoes, since Lanny was growing up so fast. And on the way home, they could get some ice cream and go home...unfortunately, she didn't know her plans were about to be smashed to smithereens.

She placed her purse in her desk drawer and realized that the team was in the conference room, and that she could see Strauss with them, which was very strange. If Strauss was there that meant something was really wrong. She quickly headed up there. Emily knew she wasn't late to work though, and she couldn't understand why everyone was already there. She knew she hadn't gotten a call to come in earlier for a case, so then what was wrong. She stepped into the conference room and realized everyone was there except Aaron. When Emily walked in, everyone suddenly got quiet looking at her nervously.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't realize...everyone was here." She said, as she was quickly aware of everyone's nervousness. Strauss just looked at her and nodded, a little worried.

"Agent Prentiss, Dave will brief you shortly." Strauss said, looking at her rather strangely. Something was obviously going on, the way Strauss was looking at her was different...she knew something...

"Thanks, guys, I'll let you know when the search team gives us a go, but as I said, until the 48 hours have passed by, there's nothing we can do." Strauss told the team seriously.

"48 hours? Search team for what?" Emily asked, looking at everyone. But no one responded, nor would they look at her.

Strauss left the room without saying anything to her, which made Emily more concerned about what was going on...something was really wrong.

"What's going on?" Emily asked again, this time in a raised voice. Everyone turned to look at Dave.

"I've got it, just start where I asked you to, we'll meet you shortly." Dave said, as the team filed out. JJ walked past her patting her shoulder gently and smiling sadly. Okay, this was beginning to make her angry...why wasn't anyone talking. Once everyone left, Dave walked toward Emily.

"What the hell is going on Rossi!?" Emily asked, exasperated.

"There is a situation with Aaron." Dave replied, as calmly as he could.

"What situation?" She asked, and for some reason, she felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach.

"He, he...we think he's missing." Dave finally said. Emily felt like she was going to either faint or throw up.

"What...what do...do...you mean missing?" She asked.

"Aaron didn't show up to work yesterday or today." Dave tried to be as gentle as he could knowing their situation.

"He isn't answering his phone, and we have no idea where he is. Garcia tried to track his phone but it's off, and I have been by his apartment, but he's not there, nor are there any signs that he has been there for a couple of days." With that, Emily's heart dropped.

She quickly grabbed her cellphone from her pocket and dialed his number, Dave wanted to tell her they had already tried that, but he knew she had to try it herself.

"_You have reached Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI, leave a message after the tone." _His voicemail came through again.

"Aaron, its Emily, call me as soon as you get this, please." Her voice sounded cracked and nervous.

"Aaron's phone is off, Em." Dave said, trying to grab her hand.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Emily asked Dave, in a very concerned voice.

"Sunday before he went to pick Jack up at the game." Dave said, and Emily felt even weaker, Oh_ God... _

"I saw him at the game, he was supposed to take Lanny and Jack home for the night, and then...I...I..." But, she couldn't talk because her tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Dave asked, trying not to sound worried.

Emily told him what had happened with the kids, and how devastated he was when he left without them.

"I haven't talked to him since then, I called him later that night after I put the kids to bed to try and soothe his mind and explain to him what happened and make arrangements for him to get them the next time he had available, but his phone went straight to voicemail." She said sadly.

"Oh my God, Dave, I hope he didn't leave with that woman!" Emily declared, but Dave interrupted her.

"No, Emily, Aaron wouldn't do that." He assured. Aaron would never run away with another woman...he still thought there was something odd about that situation, and he hoped that isn't what happened.

"We can't send the search team out until forty-eight hours have passed, but we want to start a profile, maybe we can get a head start on a lead." Dave said, smiling sadly.

"Okay, what can I do?" She asked, as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"We need to get to his apartment and go through his things. I know this might be difficult for you, but I think that you will be the one person that could help the most with that." Dave said, knowing that the perfect candidate to profile him and his apartment was his own wife.

"Okay, that's okay, I can do that." She said sadly.

"We'll find him, Em, don't worry." Dave said, grasping her arms.

They walked out of the conference room, and Emily's heart was beating a thousand times a minute. She was praying to God that nothing bad had happened to him; as much as she didn't want to even think about the thought, she was praying that he simply had gone off with his lover somewhere, or maybe had gone on vacation or something. He had to be all right...she was telling herself it was nothing. But, another voice inside her was telling her something was really wrong, Aaron would never miss work and not call, even if he was about to die, especially not for a woman. For him to be missing almost forty-eight hours and not call anyone, not even Strauss, which meant something serious had happened to him. Emily felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart. _Oh God, please don't let anything happen to him, please._

Emily and Dave arrived at Aaron's apartment while the rest of the team started to build a profile. Strauss didn't want to begin a search for him since it was less than forty-eight hours from his disappearance, but the team firmly believed something had happened to him and it was so un-Hotch-like to just not show up to work. Dave was very worried, though, in fact, more than he'd ever been in his life; he had a feeling there was something bad going on. He had noticed a drastic change in Hotch's behavior the last couple of months and that really worried him. Those changes had nothing to do with his separation from Emily.

They walked into Aaron's apartment and everything looked normal, at least to Emily's eyes. She had never been to his new apartment since they had separated...only the kids had. But from what she could tell from what they had told her, nothing looked out of place; everything was very neat and organized, just the way Aaron liked things. The living room was small, but also very neat and clean; there really wasn't much to look for in the kitchen. Emily walked into his bedroom with a knot in her stomach. She already felt odd lurking around in her soon-to-be ex-husband's personal things. The other part of her didn't want to find anything that reminded her of the reason why they separated, but so far there were no signs of a woman ever having been there at all...no perfume scent of anything feminine at all. So, when she walked into his bedroom, she was prepared to find herself with all kinds of evidence of his affair. The room, however, looked normal as well, the bed was made and everything looked pretty organized, too. She started going through the drawers with shaking hands, ready to find anything from "HER" at any minute, but she never did...there was nothing...no female clothing, or underwear, no perfumes, make up, or anything of the sort. The same thing when she went into the bathroom...no female toiletries, nothing, not even a single piece of evidence that would indicate a woman had ever been there. Of course, that could only mean they spent all of their time at her place. Suddenly, she felt really sad and a few tears rolled down her face, until today, she still couldn't believe Aaron had cheated on her, it hurt so much still, _God, why did she still have to love him as much as she did. _She finished going through the whole room, but she found nothing that would give them a clue to where he possibly was. She sat on the edge of his bed and opened the last drawer she hadn't looked at, the one on his nightstand...she was astounded to find what she found in there.

The only thing the drawer contained were two pictures, one of their wedding day. Emily closed her eyes thinking back to that day. She then ran her finger over their happy faces; she thought she had it all with him, instead, it was all a lie, he never loved her! The other picture was a single photograph of her when she was younger...maybe 25. Aaron found that picture of her one day when he was going through some papers while cleaning out the basement, and he fell in love with the picture. It was a simple pose of her smiling, a picture that her mother had taken of her, but Aaron told her she looked absolutely gorgeous in that picture, and he kept it with him always. Emily wondered why he had those pictures there and nothing from his current mistress. Along with the two pictures, she also found a small silk bag with her rings inside, the rings she had given when she gave him the unsigned divorce papers. She put everything back, they didn't mean anything, and their marriage was over anyway. Emily was about to stand up from the bed when Dave walked inside, and from the look on his face, he had found something and it wasn't good.

"You need to see this." Dave told her, rushing out of the room again.

"What is it?" Emily inquired, following him into Aaron's studio.

She was in shock when she walked inside!

Every single corner of the office was covered in hundreds and hundreds of files, all containing the same pictures and images. _Foyet! _

"Oh my God..." Emily said, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"I had a feeling he was still working on this case, but I didn't know he was this obsessed." Dave said quietly.

Emily just nodded, Foyet was one of the reasons why they had gotten into so many fights. She sometimes felt that Foyet's case was one of the reasons that had led him to cheat on her.

"Why is he still so concerned about finding Foyet?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, there hasn't been a murder since, well, since he busted out of prison." Dave said, going through the files.

They searched all the files thoroughly, but there was nothing really that would give them a straight answer. So far, it looked like he was still after Foyet and very obsessed about him, but as far as they knew, Foyet was probably thousands of miles away, and that really didn't help them. They decided to go back to the BAU and meet the team, hoping maybe they had found something.

When they were on the way back there, Garcia called them. Dave answered quickly, putting her on speaker.

"You're on speaker, Garcia." Dave told her.

"I've got something, Sir, Hotch's phone went back on about ten minutes ago, and he made one single call, then he turned the phone off again." Garcia said worried.

"Were you able to trace the call?" Dave asked her, hoping she could have found where he was.

"No Sir, the call lasted less than 30 seconds and I had no time to track the call, or even to intercept it. We can't, it's a federal line, and we don't have access to them." Garcia said, disappointed

"Okay, do you at least know who he called?" Dave inquired.

"Yes, it leads to a number assigned to Kate Joyner." With that, Emily felt like she wanted to die. He had not even had the decency to return any calls to anyone, not even his boss, Section Chief Strauss, or his best friends, but worst of all, he didn't call her back about the children, but he surely called his fucking lover, and tears started rolling down her face, as Dave parked inside the BAU parking levels. Emily got out of the car slamming the door and rushing towards the elevators. Dave immediately went after her.

"Emily wait, where are you going?" He said, running and catching up with her.

"I'm going home!" She responded angrily.

"Emily wait." Dave plead, as he tried to grab her arm gently, but she snatched it back.

"What Dave?" She snarled.

"He is obviously not missing, he is out there somewhere with his lover." Emily hissed angrily.

"I don't think so, Emily." Dave said, he, too, was in shock to know Aaron had only contacted Kate Joyner, but the bad feeling he had was still there, and he still sensed he was in danger.

"I have to go home to my daughter that really needs me, I'm sure Aaron will return just fine with his...girlfriend." Emily said, as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Look, I know you're upset, but I have a feeling something is really wrong, and it has nothing to do with Kate Joyner and has everything to do with Foyet." Dave told her.

"Yes, Dave, something is wrong...Aaron is out there taking a vacation with that slut while we are here worried about him. I have to go." Emily hissed, as she was about to walk away, but Dave blocked her.

"If that was true, if he was with her, he wouldn't be calling her." Dave reasoned. Emily just looked at him.

"Look, I know you're hurt and angry for what he did, and no one wants to kick his ass more than me, but right now, I know he is out there and something is really wrong. Just do this, at least, for me, please." Dave begged.

Emily looked at him for a moment; he looked very worried, and she could tell he had never been that scared. She rolled her eyes and sighed...

"If it turns out he was with her, I swear to God, Dave..." Emily warned.

"There is only one way to find out." He said, looking at her intensely. Emily looked at him, confused, and then it hit her.

"Oh no, oh no, no, no, I'm not going there." She said firmly.

"Emily, it's the only way..." Dave begged.

"Well, then, take someone else, because I'm not going there!" She yelled angrily.

"Emily, your presence will throw her off guard." Dave explained.

"I would not be asking you to do this if I didn't really think it was the best idea, please." Dave begged again.

Emily sighed, the last thing she needed was to be face-to-face with her soon-to-be ex-husband's whore.

"Please, Emily," Dave begged again, the desperation in his eyes was evident.

"Fine, but I can't promise I'll control myself." She warned.

"...And I won't stop you." Dave said, as they both walked back to the SUV.

When they arrived at Kate Joyner's apartment, Emily was angrier than she'd ever been; she was hoping they didn't find him there, because she was truly going to kill them both if they did. She was also hoping Dave was right and something was going on, not that she wanted anything to happen to him, but she would die if she found out they had been away together, and he had never been missing.

They rang the doorbell, and a few minutes later Kate Joyner appeared at the door; she was in shock when she saw them.

Emily and she looked at each other for a few seconds. It was obvious to Kate that Emily wanted to kill her...she knew that Emily wanted to kick her ass, but she also knew that Emily was way too educated for that. As for Emily, she had dreamed many nights about that, about confronting the woman her husband had cheated on her with, but to be honest, she was not even sure what to even say to her. Out of the million things she wanted to say to her, Kate, however, was looking at Emily differently. Kate knew this was going to happen eventually...someday...she had, in fact, been waiting for her.

"May we come in?" Dave asked, showing his FBI badge. Kate, however, turned to look at Emily.

"I'm not here to say anything, in fact, you can keep him...he's all yours. We just have a few questions." Emily tried to sound as polite as she could. Kate sighed...there was no way to hide it anymore.

"We have reasons to believe Aaron is missing; we were wondering if you have any idea of where he could be?" Dave asked, trying to sound polite as well...the truth was, he really despised the woman in front of him for the damage she had done to her friends.

"I...I don't know...I haven't talked to him in a while." Kate lied. Emily laughed sarcastically.

"Really? Because the BAU tracked a call to your phone one hour ago!" Emily said, looking at her with hatred in her eyes. Kate just looked at Emily nervously.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just got home...maybe my brother answered the phone." Kate immediately replied.

"Where is your brother?" Dave asked.

"He...he just left for school." Kate said nervously.

"How convenient." Emily said evilly.

"When was the last time you saw Aaron?" Dave asked.

"A few weeks probably, I can't remember." Kate said, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh, please, you're sleeping with him, and you can't even remember the last time you were in bed with him?" "Hilarious"...Emily said, losing her patience.

Kate just looked at Emily, Kate knew Emily was right to hate her the way she did, she just hoped she could explain everything to her one day after all this was over.

"How long has he been missing?" Kate asked, changing the subject.

"Since Sunday, his phone has been off...he hasn't been answering any calls." Dave explained.

"Except yours!" Emily said, glaring at Kate. Kate sighed again.

"I don't know where he is, I really don't." Kate said.

"You don't sound too concerned about him for being his...what should I say...mistress, or do you go by another name?" Emily said through piercing eyes.

"Emily." Kate started, but Emily cut her off snapping...

"What! You're offended?" Emily hissed, losing all sense of decorum.

"What else do you call a woman that sleeps with a married man and tears a family apart?" Emily asked indignantly.

"I personally think you're too low and too selfish to understand what a family is. The fact that you destroyed a happy family without any care whatsoever is clearly a sign of that." She added, she couldn't stop herself.

"Emily, please." Kate tried to stop her again.

"What! You don't like me telling you the truth?" Emily asked angrily

"I just have one question for you..." She continued her escalating rant.

"Are you really that desperate to find a man that you needed to jump in bed with a married man?" Emily didn't care anymore, Kate was going to listen to her.

Kate closed her eyes sighing...

"Well, it is obvious that a decent man never laid eyes on you, so you went after a happily married man in order to be his mistress." Emily said raising her voice. Dave wanted to stop her so badly, but he also knew Emily had the right and needed to vent and get her emotions out.

"I mean, that is all you'll ever be, a low class mistress that has no dignity or morals." Now that the words had started, the words were pouring out of her mouth.

"Please, please, stop, "Kate begged.

"Well, you can be happy, you destroyed a happy family and damaged the lives of two lovely and happy children. I hope it was worth it. Although, a woman such as yourself is so self-involved that you could never be happy with one man for long, and eventually Aaron will see you for what you are, just a good lay, and a distraction." Emily was about to continue when Kate couldn't take it anymore and finally snapped…

"You know what, I can't do this anymore! I promised Aaron I wouldn't say anything about any of this, but I can't hide this anymore." Kate stated, loudly raising her voice at Emily.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Emily asked confused.

"Aaron never cheated on you." Kate snapped.


	17. Chapter 17

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 17: The Painful Truth

"Well, you can be happy, you destroyed a happy family and damaged the lives of two lovely and happy children. I hope it was worth it. Although, a woman such as yourself is so self-involved that you could never be happy with one man for long, and eventually Aaron will see you for what you are, just a good lay, and a distraction." Emily was about to continue when Kate couldn't take it anymore and finally snapped…

"You know what, I can't do this anymore! I promised Aaron I wouldn't say anything about any of this, but I can't hide this anymore." Kate stated, loudly raising her voice at Emily.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Emily asked confused.

"Aaron never cheated on you." Kate snapped.

Emily and Dave both looked at Kate in shock, and Dave smiled internally, he knew it...his suspicions were true.

"What?! What are you talking about?" Emily snarled.

"He didn't cheat on you, he just made you believe he did." Kate stated, finally happy to let the truth out.

"I don't believe you, why would he do that?" Emily asked, shaking her head...she was certain Kate was just saying that so she would stop her escalating rant against her.

"He did it to protect you and your children." Kate replied sighing. There was no other way around it anymore, she had finally betrayed Aaron's confidence, but she felt that she had no other choice; she couldn't stand to see Emily so heartbroken, especially when she started talking about the children.

"Protect me? Protect me from what?" Emily screamed again in shock...she didn't believe a word Kate was saying.

"From Foyet." Kate replied, finally being able to tell the truth.

"He went after Foyet, didn't he?" Dave finally questioned, coming out of his shock.

"Yes." Kate answered, looking at him nervously.

"What are you saying...what does Foyet have to do with any of this...with your affair?" Emily questioned. Emily's head was now in a complete fog, she didn't understand a single word that was coming out of Kate's mouth.

Kate sighed, walking to her living room and pulling a piece paper out of the box on the table. She walked back to where Emily was standing and handed her the piece of paper. It was a piece of the Michigan Post, and Emily saw the ad that was highlighted.

"_If you stop hunting them, I will stop hunting you. For as long as we both shall live. Until death do us apart."_

Emily read the ad signed by two initials..._AH_. What was this, what did it mean and what did it have to do with anything anyway?

"This is the same deal Shaunessy made with Foyet." Emily offered in shock still very confused. Kate simply nodded sadly. Dave walked to Emily taking the piece of paper from her hand, he knew exactly what it meant.

"Okay, so he made a deal with the Reaper...I still don't see what that has to do with my children and me." Emily hissed angrily again. Kate was just trying to distract her to keep from telling her what she had wanted to since Emily had found out about the affair.

"Foyet wasn't talking about the citizens of Boston, he meant _them_." Kate said quietly. Kate knew she needed to explain everything to Emily step by step. Emily was already so very upset, Kate didn't think she really understood what she was saying.

"He was talking about you and the kids." Dave explained to Emily, while looking at her concerned.

Kate nodded again and Emily gasped in shock...this couldn't be, this wasn't true!

"Foyet told Aaron that the only way he wouldn't hurt you and the children was if he...well, if he left you...forever." Kate explained to Emily and watched as her facial expressions crumpled and tears began to roll down her face.

"NO, NO, this can't be true, Aaron wouldn't do this to us. He wouldn't walk out on me and his kids." But she couldn't continue...she brought her hands to her face crying.

"Foyet blackmailed him into it. Aaron refused at first, but Foyet told him he would come after you and the kids, and he told him in very descriptive words." Kate told them, closing her eyes. Emily just stood there, stock still, listening...she felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her head and suddenly she couldn't breathe anymore.

"Oh my God!" She cried, looking at the paper again.

"Aaron made the deal, but he was still after Foyet." Kate stated, turning to look at Dave.

"I'm so sorry, Emily, I couldn't tell you any of this. I had sworn to Aaron that I wouldn't breathe a word to anyone about Foyet and our search because we were afraid Foyet would find out and come after you." Kate apologized, trying to approach Emily, but Emily moved away shaking her head.

"Aaron never cheated on you, he just made you believe he did so he could keep his word to Foyet." Hearing this, Emily ran out of the apartment and stopped outside and started throwing up. Dave followed after her trying to help her, but she pushed him away.

"You knew about this?" Emily asked in shock.

"I...I had a suspicion, but I didn't know anything for sure." Dave told her, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

"You sat there and watched me suffer and cry over this, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth?" Emily screamed, still crying like her life depended on it.

"I wasn't sure, Em. I had an idea that something was going on, but I couldn't say anything to you until I was certain. That would have been cruel if I was wrong." Dave apologized.

Emily just shook her head angrily as tears poured down her cheeks. She ran to the SUV, reaching in and grabbing her purse, then slamming the door angrily.

"Emily, wait please, where are you going, you need to calm down, please." Dave yelled after her, but she ignored him, hailing a cab and getting into it, disappearing down the street.

Dave knew she had every right to be angry at everyone. What she had just found out wasn't easy, and he knew she was going through a lot of pain. He ran back inside Kate's apartment.

"Do you know where he is?" Dave asked, very concerned. One thing he knew for sure, they needed to find Aaron soon before it was too late, he was in a lot of danger, as well as Emily.

"He just told me Foyet was heading north, and he had a lead. I can help if you guys need me to. I never meant to hide any of this." Kate apologized again.

"It's okay, let's go, we have to go." Dave said, rushing back to the SUV with Kate hurrying after him.

"She's going to go find him alone, right?" Kate asked in concern.

"Yes, and we need to stop her before Foyet finds out she knows the truth." Dave replied, starting the truck and driving away as fast as he was allowed to drive.

Emily was inside the cab, tears rolling down her face heavily; she had a million things on her mind, and she felt like her head was going to explode. She couldn't even put into words how she felt; she was so confused and so upset. Learning that Aaron had never cheated on her, that he had never betrayed her, she didn't know what to think. She didn't know what made her angrier, the fact that he made her believe he had cheated on her with all the pain he put her and the children through, or the fact that he had made a deal with a criminal. She couldn't believe Aaron had actually done what he had done, he could have been hurt or worse yet he could have died, and what if Foyet hadn't kept his word...what the fuck was he thinking! Why didn't he tell her the truth...she was his wife, and they told each other everything. She could have helped; she could have helped him come up with a better solution. Why the hell did he always have to be the fucking hero, and why did he have to be so fucking stubborn? He was out there in danger and if something happened to him, she was going to die. _No God, please don't let anything happen to him. _Her heart started beating faster than it already was...she had to go find him, she was going to go find him, and she was going to do it alone!

For once, she didn't trust anyone right now, she couldn't believe Dave knew or suspected the truth, and still let her and her children suffer. Emily was so mad at him, even though she trusted him, he had watched her every night for months crying over her cheating husband, and all that time, he knew that Aaron's affair with Kate might not have happened. This was why she never trusted people to begin with. Secondly, even if Dave had not hidden this from her, she couldn't put him, or any of her family or the team at risk. This was a battle between Foyet and her husband, which technically made it her battle, too. Emily made a vow to herself that she was going to do this and find her husband. Of course, she needed help, but she wasn't going to put the team at risk, and there was only one other person she trusted with her whole life and could help her find Aaron.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number with shaking hands. The phone rang a couple times and the British male answered...

"Hello there, beautiful?" Clyde answered, smiling widely.

"Ho bisogno del vostro aiuto." Emily's crying voice replied in Italian in case the call was being intercepted. (I_ need your help_)

"Cosa c'è che non va? sei in pericolo?" Clyde asked, very concerned because she sounded agitated, and he could tell she was crying. (_What is wrong? Are you in danger?)_

"Mio marito è ... ei miei bambini." Emily said, as tears rolled down her face. (_My husband is ...and my children._)

"Sono sulla mia strada." Clyde said, without hesitation. (_I am on my way.)_

Emily hung up the phone, feeling a little safer. She knew Clyde would get there as soon as he could, which would take at least a several hours even on his jet. But, he was the only human being in this world she trusted blindly...after her husband. She had known Clyde for well over ten years...he had been her boss when she worked at Interpol, but he had been more than her boss, Clyde had been her best friend. She knew Clyde so well and had managed to keep a relationship with him over the years, although he lived in England. Clyde had come to her wedding to Aaron and to Alana's baptism. They tried to see each other when they had a chance to travel, and they kept in touch often through phone or email.

By now, Clyde, of course, knew about Emily's separation from Aaron. Clyde had been the first one Emily called after she thought Aaron had cheated on her. His first reaction had been to fly to America and kill Aaron, but Emily had begged him, crying, not to do anything. Clyde was furious, he cared for Emily tremendously, and he would do anything for her...even kill, so when he found out that bastard had betrayed her, his blood was boiling, and he wanted to tear him apart, piece by piece, but he swore to Emily he wouldn't do anything and out of respect for her he didn't intervene. However, he kept contact with her almost every other day, so when she called tonight, he immediately left Interpol and rushed to his jet. He knew something was very wrong, and he had to go there, and of course, that would also give him a chance to kick Aaron's ass.

Emily arrived at Alana's school a little earlier than when her usual classes were over, but after she talked to the principal, she was allowed to take Alana home. She hailed another cab looking around and making sure she wasn't being followed. She gave the cab driver their address to take them to their home, since her car was back at Quantico. She knew the team would follow her in that car, and she also knew she couldn't go back to the BAU. Emily had her SUV at home because she only used that truck for family and trips. She usually drove her own car everywhere since it was smaller and more convenient. When the taxi arrived at their home, Emily paid him and watched nervously as he left.

She then walked inside the house, looking all around and making sure no one was inside, since she was getting very paranoid, after checking every single corner of the house. She took Alana upstairs to her room where she prepared a bag for her daughter with clothes for several days along with other things she would need.

"Where are we going, mommy? Alana asked confused.

"We're going on a vacation, baby." Emily answered, smiling at her daughter.

"What about school?" Alana asked again, confused.

"It's just a few days, sweetheart, don't worry." Emily soothingly replied to Alana, trying to sound calm.

She rushed to her room with her daughter in her arms scanning every corner, placing her daughter on the bed softly. Then, she started preparing a bag for herself, as Lanny watched her, confused.

"Will you please get mommy some socks from the closet?" Emily asked Alana since she didn't want her to see what she was about to do.

"Okay, mommy." Lanny said, rushing into her mother's closet.

Emily opened the safe she and Aaron had in their room pulling out two guns; she placed the first gun in her ankle holster and hid it with her pants, and she had her service weapon holstered to her waist already. The other gun she hid in a pair of Alana's sweaters and placed the gun in the bottom of the bag she had prepared for her daughter.

When Alana came out of the closet, she handed her mother the socks, and Emily threw them in the bag she had prepared for herself. She then proceeded to lock every window and every door of the house. Emily lifted her daughter and both bags and headed to the garage where her SUV was parked. She placed the bags in the trunk and fastened Alana's seat belt. She then got in the driver's seat and pulled out of the garage. She only used the SUV on rare occasions like vacations and family trips, so she knew it would be harder for anyone to track her in the truck. She left the house with her eyes on the road and rear view mirror the entire time...she knew she was probably being paranoid but she had to make sure.

She drove quietly trying to control her emotions, she couldn't let Alana see her breaking down and crying, she had to be strong for the kids and for her husband. She had to find Aaron; she had to save him, she tried to keep her thoughts positive. Thinking he was fine...he had to be fine. _Hang in there, my love, I am coming, _she said, as she prayed in her mind for him to be fine. She would do whatever it took to save her husband, and now that she knew Clyde was coming she felt better, more positive. She knew exactly where to meet him, and she just had one thing to do before meeting him. She drove to Haley's house and parked in the driveway...Emily knew they should be back at any minute from picking Jack up from school. A few minutes later, she saw Haley's car pull in, and Emily quickly got out of the car, and helped Lanny out.

"Hey, Emily, what are you doing here?" Haley asked, with confusion written on her face. They had not agreed to meet, or for Emily to take Jack. Jack immediately ran to her clinging to her.

"Emmy!" Jack screamed happily as the Emily hugged him.

Emily looked at Haley and said, "I need to talk with you, Haley, can we go inside?" Just before they went inside, Emily scanned the streets, causing Haley to look around, what was she looking for?

"Of course, come in?" Haley replied, opening the door and letting everyone in.

Emily stepped inside the house placing Lanny on the floor softly. "Jack, baby, can you do me a favor?" Emily asked sweetly.

"Yes, Emmy." Jack immediately smiled.

"Go to your room, please, and prepare a bag for you, we're going on a vacation for a few days." Emily softly ordered.

"Why, we're not off from school yet." Jack stated.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked in shock.

"I'll explain everything in a minute, Haley." Emily said, looking at Haley desperately and pleading with her…Haley could see in Emily's face that something was really wrong.

"Please, Jack, do as I say." Emily begged again, and Jack turned to look at his mother for her permission, who just nodded telling him it was okay.

"Lanny, would you go help Jack, please, honey?" Emily told her daughter. Lanny nodded, and Jack grabbed her hand gently as they started walking up the stairs.

"What is going on, Emily." Haley queried, very concerned.

"Aaron is missing and in danger, and I don't know where he is, but I need to find him." Emily told her unable to stop the few tears that were rolling down her face.

"What! How is he missing?" Haley asked, concerned.

"I can't explain very much to you...all I can tell you is he went after a very bad man, and he might be in a lot of danger." She tried to explain it to the former Mrs. Hotchner as gently as she could.

"Is he ok?" Haley asked in shock.

"I'm not sure, that's why I need to find him, but I need to put you and the kids in protective custody." Emily explained, and with those words, Haley became terrified.

"Please get a bag ready for a few days, I'm taking you guys somewhere safe." Emily told her.

"Why is this bad guy after us?" Haley asked, very concerned.

"He could be, that is why I want to take you somewhere where you will be safe." Emily nodded, trying to not freak Haley out.

"Just do as I say, please, I'll try to explain more, but we really need to go." Emily said while looking at her watch. Haley nodded and ran upstairs to prepare a bag for herself.

A short while later, Emily pulled out of Haley's driveway with her and the two kids in her car, trying to maintain a civil conversation with Haley the whole way to their destination. She didn't want to say too much in front of the kids and planned to explain everything to Haley when they were safe at their destination. She felt a little more relaxed now that the kids and Haley were with her and she knew they were safe, since they were the first people Foyet would want to go after if he found out the truth was out. Thankfully, Helen was out of the country having gone to Costa Rica with a few friends from her club, which was a great thing since Emily didn't want her involved in this at all.

She drove for about an hour knowing exactly where she was going; then, she took the Brookshire exit off the road and made a left at the bottom of the exit, driving about two miles through the woods.

"Where are we going?" Haley finally asked.

"We're going to my friend's cabin, it's about a half hour from here." Emily said, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Why there?" The blonde woman asked.

"Nobody knows the existence of the cabin, only me and him." Haley looked at her in shock…that sounded a little weird. Emily realized Haley was looking at her a little oddly, so she decided to explain a little further before Haley got the wrong impression.

"A long time ago when I was working for Interpol, I was after another very bad guy, my friend and I, well…we set that cabin as a safe point to meet if our life was ever in danger." Emily explained, remembering her mission with Ian Doyle…thankfully he's in prison now. Haley just nodded…she knew that Aaron had explained that sometimes they couldn't disclose full details of their cases, so she didn't want to ask her any questions.

"The cabin is not registered, and it's not on any map, only Clyde, my friend, and I know where it is, it's the only place I can take you where I know you'll be safe." Emily told Haley in a comforting way.

"What about you, are you going to be okay?" Haley asked, concerned.

"I'll be okay when I find Aaron." She said as single tear rolled down her cheek. Haley nodded, squeezing her hand gently. She knew how much they loved each other and even if he had cheated on her, she knew Emily still loved him deeply.

When they arrived at the cabin, Emily saw a dark blue Audi parked outside, which brought a big smile to her face. Just as she was parking, a blonde man came out of the cabin and walked toward them. Emily got out of the car and hugged him tightly. He held her tightly for a few minutes.

"Aaron è scomparsa e lui è in pericolo." She told him in Italian so the kids couldn't understand what they were saying. (_Aaron is missing and he is in danger_).

"troveremo lui non vi preoccupate." Clyde replied in a comforting tone, hugging her (_we will find him don't worry)._

Before Emily could say anything else, everyone had gotten out of the car, and Clyde was surprised by the four-year-old running to him and clinging to his leg.

"Clyde! You came to our vacation." Lanny screamed happily as Clyde picked her up in his arms.

"Hello, my little Emily." Clyde said in his sexy accent, holding Alana high over his head.

Haley and Jack, too, walked towards them.

"Clyde, you know my stepson, Jack, and his mother, Haley." Emily said, smiling a little sadly.

"Hello, Jack." He said, giving him a high five.

"Haley, a pleasure to see you again." Haley smiled, shaking his hand, now she remembered him, he had been at Emily's wedding, he had even walked her down the aisle. He was Emily's best friend…now, she felt a little more trusting.

"Let's go inside." He said quickly, scanning around, too; they got the bags out of the trunk and walked toward the cabin.

When they walked inside the cabin, there was another white male who looked familiar to Emily, but she couldn't quite remember where she knew him from.

"This is Erick Borguess, a friend that I trust completely, and he works for Interpol for the Marshal services." Clyde said, smiling to Emily. Now, she knew why he looked familiar…he had worked with her at Interpol.

"You remember him, don't you, darling?" Clyde asked Emily.

"Yes, it's so nice to see you again, Erick." Emily said, shaking his hand. The blonde male smiled at her. Erick seemed very physically fit, and he also looked like he could take down anyone with just a punch, so, for a minute, she felt more relaxed. If Clyde had brought him along that must mean he really trusted him. Clyde only trusted one other person in this world, and that was her.

"Erick, why don't you take the kids upstairs to pick a room?" Clyde suggested.

"Do you guys want to check out all the cool rooms?" Clyde asked the kids.

"YES ...YES!" Both kids shouted happily.

Once the kids and Erick disappeared, Clyde walked towards Haley and handed her a cellphone.

"This phone is untraceable and nobody will be able to intercept it. It is programed so you only receive calls from me or can only call me." Clyde told her and Haley just nodded.

"No one will know you have that phone, not even Erick, and if you need anything call us." Clyde said quietly.

"Okay." Haley nodded with fright in her eyes. Emily handed her the backpack she had prepared for Alana.

"There is a gun inside this bag, hide it and if anything happens, please use it, just be safe and keep the kids safe." Emily told her, almost crying.

"Emily, I can't...do this." Haley begged.

"Yes, you can. I have complete faith that you will guard our children with your life, and now, I need you to listen to me, please." Emily said and Haley just nodded.

"I need you to do something for me, please, well, two things actually?" Emily almost begged.

"Anything! What do you need?" Haley asked.

"I need you to take care of Alana while I'm gone, please, I don't trust anyone else. You are a mother, and I know how much you love Jack, please keep them both safe." Emily begged, as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Of course, don't worry, but you'll be back right." Haley reminded her.

"If anything happens to me or Aaron, our will is in the safe in our room; a long time ago, Aaron and I decided that if anything happened to us, the safest place we could leave Alana was with you. I know this is a hell of a time to bring this up, but I need to know, will you do that for us, please." Emily begged, holding Haley's hands.

"Don't say that, please, nothing is going to happen to you." Haley cried.

Please, Haley, promise me, you will take care of her and make her a good girl. And guide her the right way. Please just promise me." Emily implored.

"Okay, okay, I promise you, but I know you'll be back." Emily hugged Haley, and they pulled apart when they heard the kids coming back, both of them quickly wiping their eyes.

"You guys are going to stay here with Haley, okay guys? Please be good to her and do as she says." Emily ordered both kids.

"Why mommy, where are you going?" Lanny asked, pouting as tears formed in her beautiful eyes.

"Mommy has to go to work, sweetheart." Emily said, trying to calm her daughter down.

"I don't want you to go." Lanny said crying. Emily picked her up hugging her tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please obey mommy, sweetheart, and be good for Haley, it's very important. And you can help Haley and play with Jack all you want to." Emily said in a cracked voice. Lanny just shook her head.

"Please, baby, please, you have to be good for mommy, I am begging, please, Lanny?" Emily said, still hugging her tightly.

"Okay, mommy." Lanny finally said.

"I love you more than anything in this world, baby, don't ever forget that, okay?" Emily said, as more tears rolled down her face. Haley just watched them tears forming in her own eyes.

"I love you too, mommy, as far as this." She said, holding her arms out as far as she could hold them. Emily smiled putting her daughter down finally, as they were both crying. Haley picked Lanny up in her arms as Emily said bye to Jack, too, and kissed him.

"Please be a big boy and take care of your mom and Lanny, please, baby, okay?" Emily said hugging the boy tightly, too. Jack nodded and kissed Emily on the cheek and hugged her tightly.

"Erick, keep them safe, please." Emily told him.

"Don't worry, be careful, guys." Erick told Emily in a comforting tone. After Clyde said bye to Lanny and everyone else, he and Emily left.

They got in Clyde's car and left the cabin quietly. Emily watched the cabin become smaller and smaller, and she closed her eyes praying to God to keep them safe and to keep Aaron safe as well. She felt Clyde's hand squeezing hers gently, and she opened her eyes smiling at him…she truly knew she was safer now.

"Are you going to finally tell me what is going on?" Clyde asked as they drove.

Emily sighed and started telling him everything from the very beginning, about Foyet's case and the deal he made with Shaunessy; everything about the affair being a lie, and the confrontation between her, Rossi and Kate, where Aaron had gone, and why he had invented the affair. Clyde listened to her as she talked, and he realized he had done the right thing to come and help her. He would go to the ends of the earth for her and to help her find her husband, but he also knew there was a risk they might not find him alive.

"I'll do everything within my power to help you, but I want you to understand that we might not find him alive." Clyde told her, looking at her intensely.


	18. Chapter 18

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 18: Broken Family

The team was gathering at Quantico since they had been trying to find Emily, but they had no idea where she was, or where to begin looking. Everyone was still in shock because they couldn't believe what they were seeing, especially when Dave brought Kate Joyner into the bullpen to help them find Hotch. At first, everyone on the team had been extremely angry when Dave walked in with Kate because they weren't aware of the true account of what really transpired within the Hotchner household and at the BAU, and they were still really mad at Hotch for what he had done to Emily. They actually hated him deeply, and their dislike had been growing exponentially day by day. But, Dave made everyone sit down and listen to him as he and Kate explained what happened between Aaron and Kate, and the true relationship between them. It was a very hard sell to the team because the team had thought they were having an affair for so long, and they just couldn't believe that Hotch would allow Emily to hurt as she had for any reason and especially for so long. They believed that the good, honest man that they knew and loved and followed for so many years and had loved Emily and his family so much would ever have allowed ANYONE willingly to tear them apart. Finally, Dave convinced them, one by one, that the affair was not true and had never happened, and it had been made up for everyone, including Emily and the rest of her and Aaron's family, to believe it was true to fool Foyet so he would leave Aaron's family alone and not harm them to protect his family.

This knowledge was really difficult for them to hear, especially for Morgan, since he had tried to pursue Emily once he found out they were divorcing. Now, he didn't know what to do...he felt terrible because he and Hotch were good friends before the whole Foyet thing happened; in fact, they were all one big family. The "boys" usually played golf on Sunday mornings, then had breakfast at the club; and once a month, they would all go out for drinks, and the entire group would often have barbeques at somebody's house, just to get together and relax.

Things had changed a lot since the entire thing with Foyet had happened, the team had become distanced, and of course, there was a lot of hatred towards Hotch, but today finding out that it was all a lie...that Hotch had never cheated on Emily was hard for everyone just because it mixed everyone's thoughts totally up. Of course, everyone reacted in their own way...after all, they respected Hotch deeply and they always had, and now that they knew he was still the great man they always thought he had been, they felt sorry and extremely bad for all the unkind thoughts and words they had flung toward him these past months...they wanted to find him soon and make sure they could reunite the family again. Then of course, Emily was missing, too, and that worried the team even further.

JJ and Penelope were worried, and they didn't know what to do; they felt terrible because they wanted to find their friend alive, but more than anything, it was Penelope who felt gut wrenching pain, worse than anyone else, maybe even worse than Morgan. She and Emily had gotten into a confrontation a few weeks ago, and now they were not really speaking with each other unless it was business related. Penelope knew it was her own fault, and now she felt horrible and wanted to find Emily and apologize to her; she had confronted Emily because she felt Emily was getting too close to Morgan, and she had implied something she shouldn't have, and now Emily wasn't speaking to her. Penelope had lost her best friend, and now that best friend was out there in danger, and maybe it was all her fault.

_Flashback:_

_Emily walked inside the BAU with Morgan; they had gone to lunch together, and now they were returning to work. Emily was smiling widely at whatever Morgan was saying to her, and that, for some reason, made Penelope very uncomfortable. She didn't like the closeness that was happening between Morgan and Emily. Penelope knew Morgan was just trying to help Emily through her divorce, but it really wasn't right that they went out all the time, at least not in her eyes. Penelope had been secretly in love with Morgan ever since she started at the BAU, and while they maintained a very healthy flirtatious relationship, she knew Morgan would never lay serious eyes on her. For some reason, she had always had the feeling that Morgan had some kind of feelings for Emily which, of course, she never liked because she felt a bit jealous. But, Emily seemed not to be interested in him at all. When Emily started going out with Aaron, Penelope felt relief... she knew it was silly that she felt this jealous about her best friend and Morgan, but she couldn't stop the feelings, and to be honest, she had many reasons to be internally a little jealous about the raven-haired beauty. Emily was breathtakingly beautiful inside and outside, she was smart, probably more than everyone in the entire BAU, she spoke several languages, and she was one of the top BAU agents; she was funny and kind hearted, and she had a body to die for. Penelope knew that several agents in the BAU were after the brunette, including Morgan , so when Emily finally got married to Hotch, she was very happy. Although she knew nothing would ever be possible between Morgan and herself, she felt relieved that Morgan would, at least, not be with one of her best friends._

_But everything changed after Emily separated from Hotch...she started to get a lot of attention from everyone, especially Morgan, and that bothered her very much. She, of course, knew that Emily was hurting a lot and needed help, but the attention Morgan was giving her was way too much in Penelope's eyes, and that made her really uncomfortable, so Penelope watched as they returned from lunch. She was sitting with JJ at her desk, and she couldn't keep from getting a little bit annoyed at the way Morgan was making Emily smile. _

_Emily and Derek both approached the girls and sat at their desk. Still smiling at each other widely, JJ on her part didn't see anything wrong with Morgan showing a little support to Emily._

"_How was lunch?" JJ asked, smiling at her two coworkers._

"_It was good...I hadn't eaten good sushi in a very long time." Morgan said, smiling._

"_I told you that place was awesome, didn't I?" Emily asked, with a big grin on her face._

"_Yes, you did, that's why you won the bet, and I had to pay for lunch." Morgan whined, a little hurt. _

"_I told you, I always win." Emily said, winking at him._

_With those words being said, Penelope left without saying anything else because she felt a little uncomfortable, she couldn't stand the situation anymore. In fact, Emily's behavior was really irritating her. _

_Everyone went back to work, and Emily started working on her files when she remembered she needed some database files to complete her file. She knew exactly where to get them, so she decided to make a quick visit to the sexiest technical analyst on earth._

_She made her way to Penelope's office and knocked on the door softly. _

"_Come in." Penelope said...a little annoyed...she was really irritated at this day, and all she wanted to do was go home._

"_Hey, lady, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you could help me find some information in the Hudson case." Emily asked, with a wide smile. Penelope froze...Emily was definitely the last person she wanted to see; she sighed and tried to act as professionally as she could._

"_What do you need?" She asked coldly, with her eyes boring onto her computer screens. Emily looked at her strangely...what was wrong with her?_

"_I just need some information on the toxicology reports and some of the date times I'm missing." Emily said, sitting next to her...something was definitely wrong with her. _

"_Okay, sure...give me a minute." Penelope said, as her eyes remained on the screens while she typed and found what Emily needed._

"_Okay, I've got it, I just sent it to your computer." Penelope said coldly._

"_Okay, thanks, Hon." Emily said, looking at her a little oddly because Penelope had avoided eye contact with her the entire time._

"_Sure." Penelope responded, turning back to her computers and turning her back on Emily._

"_Is there something wrong?" Emily asked._

"_No, nothing is wrong." Penelope again responded, without turning to look at Emily._

"_Okay, can you tell me why you can't look at me, did I do something to offend you?" Emily asked in a worried voice, since as far as she knew, they were fine. _

"_No, I just..." But, Penelope stopped...she didn't know how to say it. _

"_What...you just what?" Emily asked, a little irritated since Penelope was acting like her four year old._

"_I don't think it's right that you just barely got divorced and you are dating Morgan, it's just not right?" Penelope said, still looking at her screens. _

"_Excuse me?" Emily asked, very offended._

"_Come on, Emily, don't act all innocent, it's not a good look on you, I see the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him...I'm not stupid!" Penelope said angrily!_

"_What the hell are you talking about ?" Emily asked, raising her voice._

"_You know how much I like Morgan, and you...you didn't even care...you got divorced and went after him immediately without caring about me, or Hotch!" Penelope said, finally turning around to look at Emily and confronting her._

_Emily sighed angrily. She was so mad that she wanted to slap Penelope in the face!_

"_You know what! For your information, I'm not dating him, not that I have to give you any explanations about whom I date. He and I are just friends!" She said angrily._

"_Oh...ssuurree you are..." Penelope screamed angrily._

_"What the hell is wrong with you, there is nothing going on between us, and even if he was dating me, it's HIS choice NOT mine or your's. If he wanted to be with you, he would have done so a long time ago." Emily knew she shouldn't have said that, but it was true and someone needed to give Penelope a wakeup call, but Penelope had really overstepped her bounds and really upset her._

"_That doesn't make it right that you jump in bed with a man your best friend is in love with just because Hotch cheated on you; it's not our fault; you don't have to do the same thing to your friends." Penelope said angrily. That was a slap to Emily's face, and Emily couldn't believe what Penelope had just said to her. _

"_Out of respect for our friendship...or for what once was our friendship, I'll walk away now, but if you EVER say anything like that to me again, I will forget that I''m a lady." Emily said, storming out of the office angrily. She couldn't believe her friend was doing this to her, and she couldn't believe she would even think that she was in a relationship with Morgan. Emily went back to her desk and decided not tell anyone about what had happened. __However, what Emily didn't know was that Dave had heard every word that had been spoken between her and Penelope__. She and Penelope, however, never said another word to each other after that._

So, Penelope more than anyone, felt horrible. She knew she had been in the wrong by saying to Emily what she did, and she knew that Emily loved Aaron deeply and would never want to be with anyone else. She was just so jealous and had acted out of instinct which was very wrong. Now that her best friend was missing, she felt very self-conscious and guilty and just wanted a chance to apologize to her and prayed that one day Emily would forgive her.

Morgan, on his side, felt just as bad as Penelope...he felt like he had betrayed Hotch and now that he had learned Hotch never cheated on Emily, he felt worse. He had openly pursued Emily and gotten into a physical fight with his friend and boss over the brunette. At the time, he felt like Hotch didn't deserve Emily, and he could treat her better, but now that he knew the truth, he felt incredibly bad having learned that Hotch had done what he had done out of love and to protect his family. What a laudable act Hotch had performed, and now Morgan felt like an asshole...he had come between the happiness of his two friends. He knew no matter what, Hotch was going to always resent him for that. He just hoped the team could find them both so the couple could be together again.

The whole family was broken and distanced from each other...Foyet had managed to separate them even if he had not intended to, and now Dave, as head of the BAU family, knew he was in charge of bringing his family together again. He knew about the fight between Hotch and Morgan, and he also knew about the fight between Emily and Penelope...hell, even Dave himself had been distanced from Hotch when he believed he had cheated on Emily, so he had gathered the team in the conference room hoping they could find both of his friends and kill Foyet so the family could be together again, and things could go back to the way they were before Foyet had appeared.

"Guys, I know this is hard on everyone, but I need you to understand that everything that has happened in the last months is all Foyet's fault, we can't let him win, we can't let him destroy our family and our team. We need to beat him together as one family." Dave said, directing his words to the team and to Kate.

"We need to find Emily and Aaron and bring them both home." He firmly continued as everyone nodded.

"We can't find a trace on Emily, she's not at her house, or anywhere else she normally would be...we tried Alana's school and even at Haley's." Spencer said, worried.

"And now, Haley and Jack are missing, too." Morgan added, looking at the team in shock.

"I don't think they are actually missing." Dave replied calmly, everyone looking at him in shock.

"I have a feeling Emily took them somewhere safe." He added.

"That would make sense; Foyet was technically after them, too." Kate stated, standing up from the table.

"That means Emily went alone to find Foyet! We need to find her Rossi, and we need to do that soon." Morgan said in a very worried tone.

"I know, that's why we're meeting here. We don't have much information on Foyet's whereabouts." He said, worried.

"Aaron told me Foyet was heading north the last time he called me, and that was the last time I spoke with him." Kate said, looking at the team sadly.

"Okay, so Foyet owned a property in Michigan...that's as North as I think he could have gone." JJ pointed out.

"Yeah, that makes sense, because that is far away enough from the police search we had going on at the time. They had police surveillance in Virginia, Boston, New York and surrounding areas, but Michigan was out of the search area." Reid said, showing the coordinates on the map on the screen.

"I think Foyet headed to Michigan...that's where the ad was posted, his girlfriend was from there." JJ said, looking through the files.

"Let's go. I think we all know he headed that way for a reason, and I'm sure Aaron figured it out, too." Dave said, standing up from the desk.

Everyone rushed to the jet; they all knew they had only a very short time to find their friends alive, but they had to get there as soon as possible. They had to find Foyet, and they had to get their two best friends back home safe and sound. While they were on the jet, they began going through the files they had again...at this point in time, they were running out of hours, and they knew that every minute that passed was another minute their friends were out there in danger, they needed to find them soon, and the longer it passed the more tension enveloped the team.

Penelope had come along by Rossi's orders, but she was still very nervous and worried. No one knew about the fight she had with Emily, and it was weighing heavily on her mentally. Penelope was sure Emily would never accept her apology, and Morgan would hate her when he found out what had happened. Penelope stood up from her seat on the jet to enter the cabin to make herself some coffee hoping it would calm her down. She knew the entire team was very tense, and she couldn't handle the stares Morgan was shooting her any longer. She had distanced herself from Morgan since the incident she had with Emily, partly because she was jealous and partly because she knew she had done something wrong, so she walked into the small kitchen they had on the jet to get some coffee avoiding eye contact with Morgan at all times.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and closed her eyes, praying to God to keep Emily and Hotch safe. Morgan, who had noticed Penelope's odd behavior, decided to go and confront the blonde and see what her deal was; he walked into the cabin after her, closing the curtain so they could have some degree of privacy.

"Hey, you." He said, stepping behind her. Penelope jumped and spilled some of her coffee over herself and over the jet floor.

"Jesus Christ, can you at least make a noise or something when you're coming into a room!" Penelope said, setting the coffee down on the counter and wiping the coffee off her blouse, nervously avoiding eye contact with Morgan. Derek looked at her and realized there was something wrong with her...she had definitely been acting unlike the outgoing and vivacious Penelope he knew.

"Hey, what's going with you?" He questioned with concern.

"Nothing, excuse me, please." She said as she tried to move past him.

"Uh uh..." Morgan said, blocking her way.

"Something is up with you, come on, baby girl, spit it out." He said, smiling widely at the technical analyst. Penelope, however, looked away from him as her eyes filled with tears.

"Penelope, what is wrong with you, come on, you can tell me." He softly said, putting his finger under her chin, gently bringing her eyes to look at him.

"I...did...something very bad?" Penelope finally said, looking up at him, and I know you're going to hate me.

"What do you mean, you're an angel, baby girl, you would never hurt a fly." Morgan replied, confused. Penelope just shook her head as tears rolled down her face.

"Talk to me, what is it?" Derek said soothingly, in a comforting tone.

"I...I thought there was something going on between you and Emily,...and I kind of got jealous, I don't know why, because I have no right to be jealous, and...I just didn't like it...the closeness between you two...and I...confronted her about it...I told her it was wrong for her to jump in bed with another man right after her divorce...and well, now she hates me." Penelope said, all of that pouring out of her mouth very fast, almost mumbling.

"You did what!?" Morgan yelled, raising his voice.

"I'm sorry,...I just...I don't know what came over me." Penelope apologized, as more and more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Are you out of your mind!?" He screamed at her.

"Morgan, I'm so sorry, I..." But, he cut her off...

"Emily is just a friend, Penelope, and even if she wasn't, that is none of your damned business!" He told her, in a very harsh tone.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just..." She tried to apologize, but he wouldn't let her.

"You just what, Penelope? Who the hell do you think you are to get in my personal business or hers?" He raised his voice even louder.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I did it...I was jealous?" Penelope explained.

"Jealous of what, me and her are just friends, just as you and I will always be, but after this, I don't even think I can be your friend!" He yelled again.

"Derek, please." Penelope begged, but before anyone else could say anything, Dave stepped in the cabin, too,

"What the hell is going on?" Dave asked, looking at both of them in shock.

"You ask her!" Morgan said, looking at Penelope with contempt in his eyes, walking away.

"I am sorry." Penelope said one more time with big tears rolling down her face.

Dave didn't exactly know what had happened but he could imagine, and the last thing the team needed right now was to be against each other. This was too much, Foyet had caused enough damage already to his family and the team. They had to stop him, they had to get him before it was too late, and the damage he had done was irreparable.


	19. Chapter 19

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 19: Fighting The Monster

Haley was sitting on a log outside the cabin watching the kids playing on the swing Erick had made them out of an old tire and chain. She was so thankful for that since she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to keep the kids entertained inside the house. They had been there for only a couple of days, but she already felt cloistered, and she had no idea how much longer they would be there. She prayed constantly for Emily and Aaron to keep safe and to come home alive, and they all prayed nightly for Emily and Aaron so the children could send their prayers for their daddy and mommy to come home safe and alive, too. She didn't know exactly what was going on since Emily hadn't told her much, but she knew that whatever it was, it was extremely dangerous, and she was truly worried about them. On the other hand, Alana constantly kept asking about her mother, and Haley didn't exactly know what to say to her anymore that would help Alana stay calm and not worry. It really broke her heart to watch the situation in front of her, but if there was something she was thankful to Emily for, it was the way she had always treated her son. And the very least she could do was to love and care for Emily and Aaron's daughter the same way, so she tried to comfort the little girl as much as she could. She even let Lanny sleep with her at night; she also knew she had to be positive and keep things positive for the kids, so she knew she had to find a way to keep the children entertained until Aaron and Emily returned home safely. Erick had been wonderful to her and the kids.

At first, Haley felt weird being around a law enforcement officer who was just there to basically guard her and the children, but eventually Erick opened up to them, and she realized he was a very nice person. She found out that he loved children and loved being around them immensely, so much so that he spent half the morning setting up the tire swing for them. Haley watched smiling as Jack pushed Alana on the swing; she really did love how the kids got along since, after all, they were siblings. Alana was a very sweet and loving child, and she was an exact clone of Emily physically...but, she had inherited Aaron's kindness and heart. She reminded her so much of Aaron especially when she was laughing and smiling...of course, Lanny had the unmistakable Hotchner dimples, but she also had the same facial expressions as Aaron, even when she was deeply concentrating on something, or upset about something. Haley just prayed that her parents would come home soon.

"Thirsty?" A voice behind her said, bringing her back from her thoughts...she turned around to see Erick with a tray of iced tea and four glasses.

"Absolutely!" Haley smiled as Erick handed her a cold glass of iced tea, and he sat down next to her.

"They look so happy together, don't they?" Erick asked, said getting a glass for himself while looking at the kids.

"Yes, they do...for now...until they get bored, and we have to find something else to keep them entertained." Haley smirked.

"They're kids, we'll find something, don't worry." Haley nodded, looking at the kids again, with her thoughts going back to Emily...she had to come home safe to her daughter..._Please God, bring her home. _

"She'll be okay." Erick said, looking at her.

"What?" Haley was in shock that he could read her that well.

"Emily…she'll be okay, she's with Clyde, and she's safe. He will protect her, I can guarantee that." Erick reassured her. Haley nodded and smiled.

"And Aaron?" She asked scared.

"They'll find him. We have to be positive and pray for them." He smiled widely at her again, and for some reason she felt different; there was something about Erick that inspired her trust, and Haley just nodded.

"I have an idea, let's take the kids to the lake, they can have fun, and you can get your head away from everything." Erick suggested.

"What! We can't leave, Clyde said we couldn't." Haley said, terrified.

"No, technically, he said to guard you with my life, he didn't say anything about not taking you guys outside." Erick reasoned.

"But..."

"While you are with me, I can guarantee that you're safe, no matter what, besides, the only thing around us for at least within 50 miles are bears." Erick said, smiling at her astonishment. "And this baby will kill 20 of them in a row." He said, touching the gun he had on his hip.

"Come on, you're safe, I promise you." He said, standing up and reaching his hand for her. Haley smiled and took his hand...maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to go with him...the kids did need a distraction, after all. She smiled widely...there was definitely something about Erick.

Many miles from there, Aaron was in a rental car watching a point through binoculars from a few blocks away; he had been following Foyet all morning, and now he was outside a building that Foyet had gone into. He had found Foyet the night before, and the minute he saw him, he wanted to jump on the son of a bitch and tear him to pieces limb from limb, but he knew he had to very, very careful especially when he was dealing with a monster like Foyet...one wrong move and everything could be ruined. He knew he had to control his feelings and to handle this intelligently.

Aaron had to get Foyet when Foyet least expected it, and when he was alone. He also knew Foyet could not be working alone, and if anyone saw him, he could get himself killed, and then Foyet would go after his family anyway. No, he couldn't take that risk and completely mess everything up after all that had been sacrificed. No, Foyet was someone who had to be dealt with by intelligence and patience. Aaron also knew that Foyet owned a property in Michigan, but he had not been there as far as Aaron had determined, in fact, Foyet had been going to different places since Aaron had been following him from the night before. Aaron was certain what he was doing was some kind of shady business, so because of that he needed to be more than careful. He would get Foyet soon. Aaron knew that he just needed to be observant and very patient, and the right opportunity would present itself. He just needed to keep his distance and act carefully, and soon he would be able to get to the scumbag.

Aaron pulled out his phone and turned it on for a second to listen to his messages...not that it mattered anyway...since he couldn't talk to anyone, but he wanted to listen to them. By now, he was certain he was officially fired from the BAU since he had not shown up to work for a few days without notification, but he just hoped everything would be over soon, so he could at least explain to everyone what had happened and why he did what he did, and they would at least learn that he wasn't the lowlife they probably thought he was.

As he had imagined, most of his messages where from Strauss, Dave, JJ and Penelope; they were all trying to reach him and find out where the hell he was. He, of course, couldn't contact anyone until this entire nightmare was over. He was about to delete the last message when _that _voice caught his attention; the voice of the woman who had stolen his heart.

"_Aaron, its Emily, call me as soon as you get this, please." _

He listened to the message, and he couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his face; he wanted so badly to call her and beg her forgiveness and tell her that the affair was all a lie and he had done everything to protect her and the kids. He wanted so desperately to tell her that he loved her more than anything in this life, and he would spend the rest of his life begging her for forgiveness, but he couldn't...he couldn't allow Foyet to trace the call, and risk everything. Aaron also knew that Emily would probably never forgive him anyway, even when she found out the truth. For all the pain and damage he had done, Aaron just hoped one day she would, at least, understand that he had done it out of love, out of the immense and eternal love he felt for her. He turned his phone back off, placed it back in his pocket and closed his eyes as more tears rolled down his face. He had to end this nightmare for everyone's sake.

Aaron had to act soon...he watched as Foyet came out of the building, got in the small Camaro and drove away. Aaron waited for him to drive a couple blocks before he started his car, following him slowly. He had to end this hellish deal that he should never have made with Foyet under any circumstances. He should have found another way to deal with Foyet and get rid of him and to keep his loved ones from harm. But the deal was about to expire, he was going to end this nightmare from hell once and for all, and he was going to do it tonight.

Emily was sitting at the restaurant table where Clyde had taken her to eat...she was going through some information on Clyde's laptop about the Foyet case while he was outside making a few calls to Interpol and to check on Erick, Haley and the kids. They had gone through everything they had on Foyet, but they hadn't been able to find him. They knew he had a small property in Michigan, but they also knew he was too smart to go there, especially since the police were after him. She sighed and picked up the cup of coffee she had on the table and took a few sips. Rubbing her eyes tiredly since she hadn't slept or eaten anything since they had left Washington, she knew she was exhausted and was frustrated because, so far, they had found nothing, and she didn't know how much longer she could take this. She needed to find Aaron, she had to save him, and she wanted to be back home with her children. She missed them both so much. All she wanted was her family back home safely in her arms.

"You haven't eaten anything." Clyde said in a reprimanding tone, watching as the brunette tiredly searched on the computer. She had not taken a single bite from the sandwich he had gotten for her.

"I know there must be something we're missing...he came here for a reason." Emily stated, ignoring his statement. Clyde sat down next to her and gently took the laptop away from her closing it and looking at her angrily.

"Clyde, I'm not finished with that, I have to check a few more things." Emily stated firmly with exasperation. Clyde could see the tiredness on her face, and he could see that the dark circles under her eyes were getting darker and growing with each passing day.

"I need you to eat something, Emily, or you're going to get sick." He told her seriously.

"I'm not hungry, please give me the computer back." She protested.

"No, darling, Em, listen to me, please." Clyde said in a very gentle tone. Emily rolled her eyes, looking away since she knew what was coming.

'I know that finding Aaron is everything to you right now, and you know I'll go to the ends of the world with you to do that." He said, making her look at him.

"But, you can't do much if you don't take care of yourself, if we're going to do this, I need you to be healthy and strong, otherwise, I'll call off the search and take you back home." He said in a reprimanding tone. Emily was familiar with that tone, she knew he was very serious

"Please, darling, do it for me?" He begged.

Emily just looked at him with watery eyes, and Clyde pulled her to him for a hug and held her tightly for a few minutes.

"Thank you." Emily said, when they pulled away.

"Eat, please." He said, placing the plate in front of her and bringing a piece of sandwich to her mouth. Emily smiled finally at how much he cared for her and how much he watched after her.

"May I have the computer back, please?" She asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Sure you can...when you are finished eating." He said, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling at her. Emily rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, but she knew if she didn't do as he said, he wasn't going to let her continue. So, she finished her sandwich and took a bite of fries Clyde ordered for her, and then they both got back on the computer to look for more information on Foyet's and Aaron's whereabouts.

Hotch parked near the house to which he had followed Foyet...he had figured out a few days ago that Foyet's father was severely ill from terminal cancer, and he knew Foyet had to go there, not because he cared about his father, but because he wanted to enjoy watching him die, after all, his father was the reason why Foyet had turned out to be the serial killer he was. He knew Foyet's hatred toward his father had grown after he abandoned him and his mother. He wanted revenge...he wanted to see his father suffering deeply, the way he had all this years. Foyet was going to kill his father, and Hotch had to stop him, no matter what...he watched as Foyet got out of the car and walked toward the house checking around to make certain he wasn't being followed. Hotch watched as the Reaper opened the gate of the house and finally walked into the house quietly. Hotch waited a few minutes before getting out of his car and stealthily going around toward the back of the house.

With his weapon in his hand, he walked around the back of the house searching for an entry location, trying to be as quiet and careful as he could be. One wrong move, and he knew he would blow everything up; he walked to the back door, and surprisingly it opened. Slowly walking into the house, the first thing that greeted him was a terrible smell, so strong that he had to cover his nose and mouth...it was a combination of sewage and decomposed body. He pulled out his flashlight, because the entire house was in complete darkness. Where the hell was Foyet?

He had gone into the house, he had seen him, so where the hell was he!? Hotch kept walking carefully through the house trying to not make a single noise, which was hard because the old wood flooring was creaking under his feet , and it was the only noise in the entire house.

What the hell was that smell, and where the hell was Foyet...maybe he had gone out back and left? But, he would have seen him, wouldn't he? He walked into what looked like a living room, but he didn't find anything in there…the smell, however, was becoming stronger. Hotch opened the next door and almost choked on the powerful odor that emanated from there. He had to cover his face because his eyes were literally watering, and he couldn't stop himself as he emptied the contents of his stomach unable to stand the stench anymore. Hotch collected himself and wiped his mouth, and he finally had the strength to point his flashlight into the room from where the horrible smell was emanating. He was totally blown away when he saw what was inside the room, but he was not surprised.

As he stepped further into the room, a man whom he could only assume was Robert Foyet was lying on a bed; he had been stabbed several times, and he was covered in blood and what looked like rats that were eating the eviscerated decomposing body. It was too late...Foyet had already killed his father. Hotch closed his eyes, unable to look at the scene in front of him any longer. He tried to turn the light on in the room, but it didn't work...he had a feeling the power had been cut. Hotch was about to walk out of the room when a noise behind him got his attention. He saw a shadow passing by and pulled out his gun, pointing the gun in that direction, but the shadow disappeared. He followed in that direction carefully. Hotch was about to walk inside the room where the shadow had gone, when a blunt object hit his head causing him to fall to the floor losing consciousness.

"Hell-loo, Agent Hotchner...Nice to see you again." Foyet said, with an evil grin.

"He came to Michigan for a reason." Emily said, again pouring more coffee. She was truly exhausted and knew they had run out of time. She had a feeling if they didn't catch Foyet soon, something really bad was going to happen. Emily had to find Aaron... there must be something she could discover that they were missing, shouldn't she have some kind of love instinct that would lead her to find him...there had to be something!

"Okay, so Aaron made the deal to stop Foyet from hurting you and the children, but Foyet wanted to see him falling apart." Clyde stated. "But why?" Clyde questioned, looking at the piece of paper that contained the ad Aaron had published.

"Because Aaron refused to make a deal the first time." Emily retorted.

"Yes, but why that deal, I mean, why go after his family." Clyde said.

"He just wanted to watch him suffer, take away what he loved most." Emily responded, looking at him as her eyes filled with tears again. She quickly blinked the tears away, knowing she had to be strong for him...she had to do anything she could to protect him.

"I get that, but there is something there, he targeted your family for a reason." Clyde added, picking up the laptop again.

Emily nodded, that was true; she, too. had wondered what had made Foyet want to go punish their family so badly. Okay, true he was a sociopath and a serial killer that had no mercy or feelings for anyone, and Foyet got off on power and control, but that also had to reflect something else...his actions. God, shouldn't she be better at this by now, analyzing serial killers...after all, she had a PhD in Psychology and Sociology...she should be a pro at this. Foyet wanted to see Aaron hurting...she got that part...but he could have other ways to see him hurting. Of course, his family was what meant the most to him, but he could have done other things, like Shaughnessy. Foyet watched him until his life fell apart, resigning from the police department and ending up abandoning his family too. "Family"! That was it! This reflected something for him.

"Family? It must have meant something for him." Emily said, all of a sudden.

"Yeah, he hated the joy and love family could mean, he was a psychopath, and he had no idea what that meant." Clyde said, feeling anger run through his veins.

"But why, someone just doesn't hate a family bonding out of the blue...this could reflect his experience with his own family as a child." Emily stated excitedly, feeling a light bulb go off in her head. She snatched the computer from Clyde a little more rudely than she intended, but Clyde knew it wasn't intentional.

"What is in your head?" Clyde questioned.

"We know nothing about Foyet's childhood...I mean, all we ever looked for, for months and months, was about what he did...his crimes...the people he murdered, but we never looked at his childhood.'' Emily stated, as she typed on the computer as fast as she could. She totally felt like Garcia navigating through all the databases, but after working with her so closely for almost four years, Emily had become a pro in computer at data research.

"His father abandoned him and his mother when he was seven years old, and his mother was severely ill. She couldn't take care him and his brother for many years...she ended up putting them in child protective services, each worse than the last." Emily said as she read through the information on the screen.

"He never had a loving home or anyone to protect him." Clyde said.

"He blamed his father for everything, for walking away from them, but he did something to him, his father harmed him somehow." Emily finally said.

"That explains why he wanted to see Aaron's life falling apart, motivations he learned from his father." Emily said.

"His father?" Emily said again, typing something else on the computer.

"Robert Foyet, seventy-two years old, he is currently diagnosed with cancer, and he was sent home to spend his last months in peace at his house." Clyde read on the screen.

"He came here to find his father." Emily said, as they both stood up from the table. Clyde reached for the computer and put it away as they both rushed to his car. Aaron was going to Foyet's father's house. They knew that by now Aaron had found that out, and he was probably going there to find him, too. Emily closed her eyes as Clyde drove as fast as he could; they had the address, and they needed to get there before it was too late.

The team was in one of the rooms they have rented at the hotel in Michigan; they had been there almost all morning, and they had found nothing. They had no idea where else to search for Emily and Aaron, and they knew they were running out of time, not to mention that they were running out of options. They had tried to track Foyet, but it was almost impossible...hell, they couldn't even track Emily and Hotch, it was as if all three of them had been swallowed off the face of the earth. It was getting darker and as more time went by, the more worried they became. The only lead they had ended up being a complete waste of time because the team had gone to the property that was listed under Foyet's name, and it had been a complete surprise when they got there and found out the property was completely abandoned. There were no signs that anyone had ever lived there, at least not for the last three years. There was not one single sign of a living creature whatsoever...well, that wasn't entirely true...if they could call rats and the bats they found in there, life...but other than that, they found nothing. Not only that, they had lost half the day searching for a clue that never existed.

Morgan was pacing around the room angrily, and he couldn't stop himself from punching the wall making a huge hole in it.

"Morgan, calm down, we need to remain focused on this." JJ said as she walked closer to him

"It's getting dark outside, Dave, how the hell are we going to continue the search when we have nothing." Morgan screamed angrily.

"I know that, Morgan, but getting angry isn't going to resolve anything." Dave said calmly.

"We need to sit down again and go through all the information we have from the beginning." Kate said, sitting on one of the beds.

"I'm going to cross reference anyone that has been related to Foyet, or that could have anything to do with him." Garcia replied, as she frantically typed on the computer.

The team nodded, and they all sat around to begin going through the files one more time. They knew they had to calm down and search everything again, there was something missing and they had to find it.

"Wait! I found something!" Garcia yelled.

"His father lives here in Michigan." She said, as everyone walked toward where she was sitting.

"He was in a hospital for cancer treatment, but he was discharged a few months ago...they sent him home to spend his last days in peace and comfort." She said showing them screens.

"Do you have an address?" Dave asked.

"2368 Kensington Road." She said, as the team rushed out the room.

"Let's go...we know where he's heading." Dave said, as they ran toward the parked SUV.

Emily and Clyde parked outside Foyet's father's house...the lights seemed to be out, but they knew they had to be in there. They slowly and quietly got out of the car and walked toward the house. Clyde walked in front making Emily follow him close behind...they stopped at the front door, and Clyde checked the surroundings. He checked around the house first, walking carefully to make sure they were safe.

"I think the power has been cut off?" He said, as he looked at the power box.

"Of course it has." Emily muttered looking around, she had a feeling something was very wrong.

Clyde put on his glove hoping he could reset the power, making sure it would give them more light while they were inside. After a few minutes of working on the power box, he successfully turned the electricity back on.

"It's back on, sugar." He said...however, no one responded.

"Emily?" Clyde asked, pointing his flashlight back in the direction where the brunette was supposed to be, but Emily had disappeared.

"Goddammit!" He said, rushing inside the house after her.

Emily walked inside the house with her weapon held tightly in her hand...the smell coming from inside the house was terrible, and it was making her really sick; however, she walked inside as fast as she could looking around all the time. She had no idea where the smell was coming from, but whatever it was, it was coming from upstairs.

She went up the stairs carefully, the steps creaking beneath her boots, and when she got to the second level, she had to close her eyes and cover her face as the smell became more penetrating. She was having trouble concentrating now. She opened the door slowly and emitted a loud cry when she saw the dead body of Robert Foyet, partially mutilated by the rats, on the bed. The tears started to run heavily down her face because for one minute she had expected to find Aaron in that place instead of Foyet's father. She felt the contents of her stomach move around, and she ran outside the room as she couldn't handle the smell anymore.

She slowly crept to the next room seeing that that door was semi closed, but she could see the light coming from the room and the shadow moving around inside the room. Emily carefully walked that way and pushed the door carefully open with her foot. When she opened the door, her entire world collapsed in front of her. She was unable to breathe, to think, or to say anything else...she felt like she was going to faint, and suddenly, her knees gave way, and she fell on the floor.

Aaron's body was in front of her, and he had been stabbed several times. He seemed unconscious, but she tried to get up and rush in his direction when someone punched her in the face hard making her vision blur and her head spin.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here, the bitch came to rescue her husband." Foyet said evilly.

While she was down, she was trying to reach for her gun, however, he kicked it away from her. Emily was paralyzed and tried to move, but she was frozen. Her eyes landed on Aaron again, and she felt like she wanted to die. She couldn't breathe anymore…she was there too late.

"He's not dead, at least not yet...he can hear us though." Foyet told, her laughing manically at her.

"Now, I'm going to kill you, and then finish killing the bustard." Foyet said, pointing at her with his gun.

"Is this because of what your father did to you?" Emily asked him, trying to stand up, but she couldn't find the strength.

"That bastard is dead in the other room, the rats are eating what's left of him, and soon they'll have two more bodies to enjoy." Foyet told her, walking closer to her.

"He raped you, didn't he?" Emily said, glaring at him that made Foyet stop and back away.

"Shut up you fucking bitch!" He screamed at her.

"That's why you hate him so much, why you hate families, for what he did to you while you were a child." Emily continued, trying to get his attention distracted so she could act soon.

"You say one more word, and I'll kill you!" Foyet shouted angrily. Emily was finally able to stand and take a few steps toward him.

"Your father was a piece of trash just like you, a bastard with no feelings or empathy for anyone, that's why you are what you are, this is why, George, you're also filled with feelings of extreme self-hatred." Emily continued, looking at him defiantly, if she was going to die, too, she wasn't going to die begging for her life, she was going to die fighting for her life.

"You're just a piece of scum, your own father didn't even want you!" Emily screamed at him as tears rolled down her face, but Foyet lost control and slapped her hard. Emily took the opportunity to knock his gun out of his hand and onto the floor and elbowed him, causing him to fall to the floor. She tried to reach for her gun, but he grabbed her arms throwing her on the floor. Foyet hovered over her and pulled out his knife about to stab her when she kicked him away from her kicking him in his balls and causing him to fall on the floor screaming in pain.

"You stupid bitch, you…" He screamed, throwing her across the room. He grabbed his gun and pushed the trigger when Emily quickly reached for the gun she had on her ankle and shot him several times in the chest as he collapsed on the floor dead; however, she didn't stop, she kept shooting him until she emptied her clip, then she reached for her other gun and frantically continued shooting him…all as heavy tears rolled down her face. Clyde heard the gunshots and ran inside the room, approaching her from behind pulling the gun away from her and pulling her close to him.

"Emily, stop...stop...he's dead, darling, stop." He said, taking the gun away and throwing it somewhere on the floor as they both fell on the floor. His eyes landed on Foyet's body…Emily had shot him at least 30 times.

Emily was crying heavily by now, and Clyde tried to reach for her, but she pushed him away, running to where Aaron's body was lying in a pool of blood.

"Aaron, please, wake up, baby, please..." She cried, trying to get him to open his eyes. Clyde immediately called the ambulance, as he could hear the team approaching the house.

Dave and Morgan rushed inside, and their eyes fell on the scene in the room seeing that Foyet was already dead, and Clyde was close by Emily trying to check Aaron's pulse who lay unconscious on the floor.

"He still has a pulse, he's very weak, but he has a pulse." Clyde stated as he again dialed for an ambulance.

"Aaron, please, please, wake up." Emily begged, crying and holding his face in her hands.

Aaron opened his eyes for a second…everything was blurry, he was in a lot of pain, and he couldn't feel his own body, but the one thing he could feel was the two warm hands that were holding his face. He blinked one time and watched as Emily cried calling his name.

"Emily..." Aaron spoke almost in a whisper.

"I'm here, honey, please look at me, please, love." Emily begged, crying frantically.

"I'm sorry for everything, I love you." Aaron said, closing his eyes again as everything became a haze, and he lost consciousness again.

"Noooooooooooo Nooooooo, Aaron, stay with me, please, I NEED A MEDIC, PLEASE!" She clung to him, crying heavily.


	20. Chapter 20

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 20: The Battle Between Life and Death

Everyone was sitting in the waiting area of the emergency room at St. Johns Hospital and Medical Center where Aaron had been brought by the helicopter. The paramedics had arrived in time to rush Aaron to the hospital, although he was unconscious and his pulse was weak and thready. They stabilized his pulse and got him started on oxygen and rushed him to the LifeFlight helicopter because he was still losing blood more than he should be. While in the helicopter and on the way to the hospital, they discovered he had been stabbed nine times, and while he had lost a lot of blood from those wounds, apparently no major arteries had been hit. The medics felt he also had a concussion, and they were afraid he would get worse before they could get him to the hospital and into the trauma unit. As soon as he got to the hospital, they had trauma doctors and nurses waiting, and they immediately took him into surgery where he and the medical crew were battling for his life. Emily had struggled with the helicopter crew to go with Aaron in the helicopter, but they explained to her that they needed all the space they had to work around Aaron, and that she would have to go in and ambulance. Clyde and Dave finally convinced her that she would be at the hospital shortly after the helicopter arrived, so she agreed to get in the ambulance as long as they left immediately.

Emily was in traumatic shock; she had several wounds and a small concussion from her battle with Foyet, but she had refused to let anyone touch her until they knew something about Aaron's status. So far, no one had come out to update them on his status, and all the doctors keep disappearing through the doors and only told them they would tell them they would update them as soon as they knew something. Unfortunately, that had been an hour ago, and Emily was ready to kill somebody.

"Ma'am, I understand your concern, but I need you to complete these papers..." The exasperated nurse told Emily for what felt like the tenth time that evening...the nurse was trying to get Emily to complete in the information on the forms for Aaron's insurance and other personal information since they were in a hospital in Michigan, and they needed all his information. However, Emily was ready to explode and go across the counter and yank the administrator's hair out.

"No, what you need to do is to tell me what the hell is going on with my husband." Emily screamed at the nurse, just barely keeping the tears at bay. Clyde had gone outside to talk to Strauss and try to explain what had happened at the house where Foyet had been killed so he wasn't privy to what was going on with Emily and couldn't help calm her down.

"Ma'am, please keep your voice down." The nurse asked Emily as politely as she could.

"You know what! I want to talk to your boss, obviously you aren't competent enough to perform your damn job!" Emily snapped.

"Emily, darling, please...calm down." Clyde said, stepping in, knowing that if he didn't act soon the nurse would be close to being murdered

"Don't tell me to calm down...I'm trying to find out how my husband is and this woman keeps asking me all these stupid questions like 'what is the name of our insurance' and 'what is my relationship to him'." She replied angrily.

"We need this information, ma'am." The nurse said again, she really was trying to be as polite as she could be.

"No...you need to tell me how my husband is doing instead of standing there like an idiot." But Clyde stopped her.

"Emily stop!...enough!...I know you're concerned about Aaron, but this is not her fault." Clyde said, pulling her by the hand easily. Dave approached them quietly.

"Come on, Emily, come here...we'll give this lady all the information she needs." Dave said gently.

"Nooooo, I need to know what is going on...please...just someone please tell me." She begged, this time as tears rolled down her cheeks. Clyde pulled her to him firmly.

"Come on, let's get you some fresh air for a second." He firmly grabbed her by the waist and took her outside while Dave gave the nurse all the information she needed.

Everyone else had gotten to the hospital and was in the waiting area, very concerned and waiting for a response. It had been almost an hour but it felt like an eternity, and with Emily freaking out, it wasn't helping the situation at all. Clyde and Emily had arrived at the hospital before anyone else, since the team along with Rossi had stayed behind at the scene to explain to the cops and the SWAT team what had happened. Of course, they explained that the attack on Foyet had been self defense, and that Emily had no choice but to shoot him, since Foyet had attacked Aaron and was coming after her. On any other occasion, they would have questioned Emily's actions, and hell, even Aaron's actions since they were out of their district, but because they were dealing with a monster like Foyet, the Chief of the Michigan State Police, overlooked the fact that Emily had shot him thirty times, and that Aaron had intentionally followed him. They were happy Foyet was dead and to their ears the version the team told them was exactly what had happened. The Chief even called Strauss validating the story the team told him was exactly what had happened. Of course, the Bureau would still have to deal with them when they returned, but for now, all that mattered was that Foyet was dead, and that Aaron was severely injured and needed to be rushed to the hospital. Strauss said she would arrive at the hospital in Michigan the following day to deal with the team, so for now, they were just waiting to hear any news about Aaron.

A little while later, Emily and Clyde returned. Clyde had managed to calm Emily down, and they walked back into the waiting room. She looked calmer, but her face was tired, and it was evident she had been crying outside with Clyde.

"Emily, let's get a doctor to look at you, please." Morgan said, looking at the blood soaked bandage the paramedics had put on her forehead and the several bruises she had on various parts of her body.

"No, I don't want to see anyone, I'm fine." She said stubbornly.

"Emily, please, Morgan is right...you need to see a doctor." Clyde stated, looking at her intensely.

"I don't want to see a doctor, please...I need to stay here." She begged Clyde tears rolling down her face. Clyde pulled her to him for a hug again, he didn't want to force her, but he knew she really needed to see a doctor as well as eat something, but he could also understand the kind of pain she was going through, and he felt for her. He wished there was something he could do to help.

"I want to call the kids." She told Clyde, holding tightly to him.

"I already talked to Erick and the kids are fine, and I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk to them right now. Let's just wait until we get news on Aaron, okay?" Clyde said gently.

"Let's get a doctor to look at you, please. I'll stay here to wait on an answer about Aaron, but you need to be seen by a doctor, do it for your daughter, please." Clyde insisted. Emily finally nodded and allowed a doctor to take her in to be check out. They took her inside while the team and Clyde waited outside.

Everyone was very quiet and seemingly lost in their own thoughts and prayers. They were all praying for good news and for someone to come tell them Aaron would be fine so they would be able to breathe again. Dave was pacing around the emergency room nervously and praying on his rosary beads; he was very worried, and he was trying to be the mature one and the one that remained calm and kept everyone at peace. Morgan kept going outside and coming back inside, guilt was eating him inside out, and he didn't know what to do, so he did what he least expected to do...he found himself going into the chapel and praying for Aaron's life. Reid was about to have a nervous breakdown, he didn't know how to help, and he just remained quietly with his hand crossed over his knees, unable to utter a single word, something very unusual for him. Reid had just realized how much Aaron had become his mentor and guide and almost like a father figure, and he was scared to death he was going to be taken away from him. JJ and Garcia were sitting next to each other and holding hands praying for their friends to be okay.

A while later, one of the doctors came out; Emily was still being examined, and they had no response on her but they did, however, say that Aaron had lost too much blood and they had stabilized him, but he needed a blood transfusion immediately... unfortunately, they didn't have enough of Aaron's blood type in the reserve bank, so they needed volunteers to see if anyone matched his blood type. Of course, everyone immediately volunteered, even Clyde, so one by one they were taken inside to match their blood type to see who could donate blood. The big shock came when Morgan was the only one who was compatible to donate blood! They didn't dare ask Emily since she was still being examined, and the traumatic shock she was in would have kept her from donating at that time anyway. So Morgan stood up without thinking twice about it ready to donate blood for Aaron. Of course, his intentions went far beyond helping a friend...he felt so guilty about trying to pursue Emily and was trying to find a way to make things up to Aaron; he knew it would take awhile to mend things with him, but he had to start somewhere, and this was his first opportunity, so they took Morgan inside so he could donate blood to Aaron. The teams angst grew even deeper, and they could only sit and play the waiting game.

About half hour later, Emily came out after the doctors had finally let her go, after checking out all her wounds, doing x-rays and other examinations. She was free to go, she had a small concussion but no major bone fractures or anything serious, she had put up a good fight and she had come out fine with nothing but a small concussion and for that they had to be really grateful. Dave and Clyde immediately stood up to help her sit down on the couches.

"Where's Morgan?" She asked, looking around for him. The team just exchanged worried looks.

"Clyde, Dave, where is Morgan?" She asked again, knowing they couldn't lie to her.

"He's donating blood for Aaron." Dave said, approaching her and kneeling down in front of her.

"What!...but, why didn't they asked me?" She asked, very concerned.

"The doctors were still examining you, and they just thought you needed to be calm." Clyde explained.

"But I'm his wife." Emily said, emotion thickening her voice.

"Em, listen, Morgan is already doing it, just try to relax and calm down." Dave said, gently squeezing her hands.

"I'm going to get you some food and tea, Em." JJ told her, standing up from the couch unable to sit around anymore, she needed to do something and do it soon.

"I'll go with you, JJ." Reid said, standing up as well and going after the blonde. The two of them disappeared into the elevators. Clyde, too, stood up for a few minutes and went to the bathroom, and Rossi stepped outside for a second to call Strauss for the tenth time that evening. Leaving Emily alone with Penelope. Emily ran her hands over her face, unable to take the stress and the wait any longer.

"He's going to be fine, Emily, we have to be positive." Penelope said quietly. Emily just nodded and looked away from her...Penelope was really the last person she wanted to talk to.

"Emily, I'm sorry about..." Penelope started to say, but Emily stopped her by holding up her hand.

"Don't okay...just don't...I don't need this right now, and I certainly don't care about your stupid crush on Morgan!" Emily said angrily, she didn't want to talk about anything...all she wanted to do was see Aaron.

Garcia was taken aback by the brunette's reaction, all she wanted to do was apologize and get her friend back; she felt terrible, and she just wanted to fix things.

"Emily, please..." Penelope insisted again, as tears rolled down her face.

"I can't even be around you right now...just leave me alone!" Emily retorted, standing up angrily and walking away just as Dave was returning from talking with Strauss. He didn't need to ask what had happened, he knew it perfectly well what had happened...he sat down next to the technical analyst and patted her back gently.

"Just give her some time...right now, she just needs space." Dave said gently, comforting the blonde. Penelope just nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes, maybe Dave was right, and this wasn't the best time to bring this up, she would give her some space.

Two hours later, everyone was still waiting for an answer on Aaron's status, but no one had come out yet. Morgan had returned after he had donated blood, and now he was siting next to the team looking very pale and tired. But, everyone was wide awake waiting on news from anyone; about thirty minutes later, a doctor came out looking very tired and by the look on his, face he had bad news.

"Relatives of Aaron Hotchner," He said, Emily immediately stood up and everyone else followed after her.

"I'm his wife." She said worriedly.

"Good evening, Agent Hotchner, I'm Doctor Barton, I'm the Head Trauma Doctor in this unit...I was doing surgery on your husband this evening." He said calmly, but Emily could see he was about to deliver bad news.

"We did the best we could, your husband had lost a lot of blood because of the stab wounds, no vital organs were hit which is a good thing, but we had to give your husband several units of blood and that helped stabilize him, but unfortunately, he went into cardiac arrest...we did a defibrillation on him and got his heart back to a normal rate, but I'm afraid..." He said, trying to deliver the news as gently as he could...

"Unfortunately, because of the medication and large amount of blood we had to give him, I'm afraid he's gone into a coma." The doctor said slowly.

"Oh my God, nooooo." Emily cried, covering her face crying, feeling her knees give way on her, Dave caught her and held her tightly.

"I'm very sorry, all we can do for now is wait." The doctor said, after giving her some time to collect herself and calm down.

"What are you saying?" Clyde asked terrified.

"We don't know when or if he will wake up." He said gently, he truly felt terrible delivering this news. With that, Emily started crying even harder.

"What can we do, Doctor?" Dave asked.

"For now, once we get his vital signs sufficiently stabilized to move him, the best thing is to transfer him to a hospital in Washington...they can monitor him there." Doctor Barton said.

"Do we have any hope? JJ asked since Emily was crying heavily in Dave's arms.

"We can't be sure, some patients respond quickly, others don't, it can take a few days, or maybe weeks, it can also take months and perhaps years." The doctor hated to tell them that, but he had to.

Emily lost sense of everything around her, she couldn't collect herself any longer, she wanted to run and scream, but she couldn't do either, she felt like she couldn't breathe, and she pulled away from Dave crying.

"Emily!" Dave tried to grab her again, but she collapsed on the floor unconscious.

""!Emily!" Dave and Clyde both screamed, kneeling on the floor.

"She suffered an anxiety attack and fainted." The doctor said, getting on the floor to check her pulse

"Nurse Abbot, get me a stretcher NOW!" The doctor yelled, trying to get Emily to wake up.


	21. Chapter 21

**A Deal With The Devil**

Chapter 21: Unresolved Affairs

Emily couldn't believe where she was standing, never in her life had she ever imagined she would be standing there, the worst nightmare could not be compare to what she was living right now. As much as she fought to keep the tears at bay she couldn't and they were pouring from her eyes; her heart had never ached so much...her soul was shattered in pieces. Emily tried to gain some composure but she wasn't successful, and sobs escaped her mouth against her will.

On her right side, Alana was holding her hand tightly...she was wearing a black dress looking at the scene in front of her with a pout on her face and sad eyes. She truly didn't understand what was happening, she was too little to comprehend that her daddy would never come home again. Jack was to her left wearing a black suit, and tears were rolling down his sweet face...he was angry at everyone but especially at God, why was God punishing him like this...why had God taken his daddy away, Haley was next to him, and she, too, was devastated...this couldn't be real, this had to be a dream. Dave, Clyde, Morgan and Reid approached carrying the coffin, setting it on the stand gently each touching the top in respect, all with utter sadness on their faces and tears in their eyes. They were sure their lives would never be the same after this. The news had been devastating for the entire team, and they couldn't even imagine the kind of pain Emily was going through.

She watched heartbroken as the boys placed coffin containing Aaron's body in front of her, and she began shaking involuntarily...she couldn't contain the immense pain anymore. Heavy tears began rolling down her face, she couldn't believe that Aaron was dead, and that he had died protecting his family, but she still couldn't accept it; she blamed herself. She had gotten there too late to save him, if she had just gotten there a few minutes earlier Aaron could have been saved, but he was dead, and it was all her fault. She should have read him better...she should have seen the signs, talked to him, and gotten the truth from him. Instead, she had pushed him away and said horrible words to him. she said she hated him, and she had treated him like trash. The thing that stung her the most was that the last words he had heard from her and his children were hateful words, painful words, and she didn't even have an opportunity to tell him that she loved him more than life itself even though she had believed he had cheated on her, she still loved him and would have forgiven him. Emily wished she could take back the time and fix everything and tell him how much she and their kids loved him, how he was the love of her life, and he would always be the love of her life, but it was too late...he was gone now, and all she had left was a broken heart and soul and an immense amount of guilt she would never forget.

As the funeral began, Emily tried to pray that one day he would forgive her for not being there for him when he needed her the most and for being too late to save him. No matter what the team told her, she would always feel guilty and she would carry his death on her heart for the rest of her life. _It was her fault and only her fault. _She closed her eyes for a moment unable to stare any longer at the image in front of her, and when she opened her eyes, the vision in front of her was very blurry. Emily blinked a couple of times and everything got clearer; they were still at the funeral, only Foyet was in front of Aaron's coffin laughing maniacally at her. What the hell was he doing there, how dare he come to the funeral after all the damage he had caused to her and her family! She tried to squeeze her hand tighter around Alana protectively, but all she found was the black dress her daughter was wearing covered in blood...Nooooooooooo, this couldn't be true...she turned around to search for Jack, but he was gone too, his suit covered in blood lying on the grass. She tried to move and run, but she couldn't; Emily blinked again, and then she saw the three coffins in front of her containing her children and her husband. Foyet had killed them, too...he had killed them because of her!

She watched as Foyet laughed maniacally at her.

"_This was all your fault, they are all dead because of you..." _Foyet told her, smiling evilly.

"_Nooooooo, please, nooooooo." _She cried...she wanted to reach him and kill him, but she couldn't.

"_And now, I'm going to kill you..." _Foyet said, pointing his gun at her...Emily tried to reach for her one gun, but she couldn't find it.

She watched as Foyet pulled the trigger, then switched to slow motion, as she saw the bullet flying toward her slowly...she couldn't move, then she felt the bullet hit her chest and everything went white. Emily felt herself collapse on the floor, and then she watched as everything around her began turning bright white, and all she could see now was a white light...was she dead, too? Wait! That would mean she could see her husband and kids again! She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt too heavy, and she felt very weak and groggy, she blinked a couple more times, and her vision started to clear.

Emily opened her eyes slowly and realized she was in a white room, a hospital room. What was going on, where was Foyet and her kids and Aaron? She was so confused, and she couldn't move. She blinked again, and she slowly turned to see Clyde next to her with a worried face...she was in the hospital.

"How are you feeling, darling?" Clyde asked, gently squeezing her hand.

Dizzy, she felt dizzy and confused, what was going on?

"Aaron, I want to see Aaron..." She was able to finally utter words, her words becoming more clear.

"Not now, darling, he is still in the ICU, but I promise you that you will as soon as you are better, and they let us see him." Clyde stated, smiling at her gently.

Aaron wasn't dead, it was a dream, just a horrible dream...she tried to sit up, but she couldn't, it seemed her body was to heavy, and she still felt very dizzy and groggy, but her mind was completely clear now...they were at the hospital, and the doctors had told her that Aaron was in a coma, and she didn't remember what happened after that. Emily turned to the other side watching the IV bag that was slowly dripping into the tube attached to her hand.

"What did the doctors give me?" Emily asked Clyde, knowing that he had demanded they give her something to calm her down.

"The doctor gave you a tranquilizer." Clyde told her while sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don't need a tranquilizer, I need to see my husband." Emily reached toward the IV needle on the back of her hand trying to rip it away, but Clyde stopped by holding her hands.

"Em, stop please, I can only imagine what you are going through, but right now, there are two beautiful children terrified because their parents aren't home, and we don't know when they will see Aaron again. They need their mother healthy and strong for them." Clyde said, wiping the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

"Aaron is strong, and he will fight for his life, and he will wake up, and when he does you need to be there for him." Clyde told her, bringing her face to look at him.

"Try to rest, the doctor said we could see him tomorrow once he is out of ICU, and then if his vital signs are stable enough, they will transfer him to Washington." Emily nodded.

"Sleep, please, you need to be fine, the doctors are worried about you, and they won't let you see him unless you are fine." Emily finally nodded feeling sleep overtake her.

"Lanny..." She whispered almost inaudibly.

"Lanny is fine...she is safe, and she can't wait to see you." Clyde smiled at the brunette whose eyes were almost closed again.

"Clyde, thank you for being here." Emily said, feeling her mind finally give out.

"I'll always be here for you." Clyde said, kissing her forehead; she fell asleep again, and Clyde stood up as Dave was walking into the room to check on Emily,

"How's she doing?' Dave asked concerned.

"She's asleep again, she's calmer." Clyde told Dave sadly.

"Come, let's get some coffee...the medicine will have her out for a while." Dave suggested. Clyde, however, didn't take his eyes off Emily, he didn't want to leave her.

"She'll be fine, the nurses are here, and I don't think she'll wake up for a while." Dave replied.

"Alright, let's go." Clyde said, walking away from the room and letting Emily rest.

As they walked to the cafeteria, Dave examined Clyde...he knew he shouldn't be doing that, but he couldn't stop himself...as much as he hated to do so, he questioned Clyde's actions. Dave knew Clyde was very close to Emily, but he truly had doubts about Clyde's feeling toward her. Was it truly only friendship, or did he have deeper feelings for the brunette?

"What?" Clyde asked, as he noticed the intense stares Dave was giving him.

"Nothing, it's just you seem to be very fond of Emily, I know you're a very good friend..." Dave said politely, trying not to sound incriminating.

"Don't..." Clyde said, putting his hand out knowing exactly where Dave was going.

"Don't what?" Dave said, running his finger through his stubble.

"Don't put something where it's not...Emily and I are only and will always be only friends." Clyde said firmly.

Dave just looked at him, surprised that Clyde could read him so well. Clyde chuckled at Dave's astonishment.

"She's my best friend, someone whom I love and respect deeply...if I wanted something with her I would have pursued her a long time ago, way before she even met Aaron." Clyde told Dave sipping on his coffee.

"Emily is truly my best friend, and I would give my life for her; but my feelings toward her aren't in any way whatsoever that kind of love." He said, looking at Dave intensely.

"I've known Emily for a very long time, longer than you can even imagine, when you've known each other since kids, I'll say we're basically like brothers, that's all." Clyde smiled.

Dave nodded and smiled; he didn't actually know they had known each other for that long, but he accepted Clyde at his word for the time being. After they finished their coffee, they returned to the room where Emily was still deep in sleep. When she finally woke up, Dave and Clyde made sure she ate something and a few hours later, she was finally released. She was calmer now; of course, the tranquilizer she was given had a lot to do with that calmness, but thankfully, Emily had managed to wait patiently until Aaron was out of ICU. She had spent most of that time in the chapel praying for Aaron. Emily was calmer yes, but she still could not stop the tears that were pouring from her eyes. She knew she had to be calm...Clyde was right, right knowing she had to be strong and be there for their kids, that she needed to hold her family together and hope that Aaron would soon wake up and come back home to them...he had to be alright, he had to wake up, he just had to, she wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

Around seven that evening, Strauss arrived and of course, things got even more stressful for the team. Even while everyone was so upset and stressed out over their beloved leader's condition being in a coma and not knowing whether he would even come out of it, she read them the riot act, lighting into them like they were children because they supposedly had acted against the FBI regulations. It didn't matter to her that Aaron was in a coma, Strauss had to show everyone around that she was in charge, and not Aaron, but what she didn't realize was that all it did was make everyone around her, even the hospital staff make fun of her, roll their eyes and call her a bitch behind her back. So, after she screamed at everyone for about an hour, she finally gave her condolences to Emily and ordered everyone, including Emily, to return immediately to Washington with her on the jet...her reasoning being they couldn't do anything because Aaron was in a coma, and they couldn't help him until he woke up. The team, Dave included, stood looking at her like she was demented, and Emily and Clyde couldn't say a word, they were so shocked. The remainder of the team knew there was no use protesting her decision, so they began gathering their bags to leave.

To Strauss's face and to her surprise, Emily blatantly refused to leave Aaron alone in the hospital, for which she got into a very intense and ugly confrontation with Strauss. Emily told her with fire in her eyes that there was no way in hell she was going to return until Aaron was transferred to the hospital in Washington, and that if Strauss wanted to fire her that was just fine. At that point, Emily had no clue whether she was in trouble with the Bureau for her actions and the way she had killed Foyet, and she truly didn't care if she lost her job for saving her husband's life...she didn't give a damn. Emily also told Strauss that she had a life outside the BAU and the FBI and the biggest part of that life was Aaron and her children, and unlike some people she knew, her family came first, and she went on to say that, right now, the last thing on her mind was the BAU. Strauss was so furious she turned red in the face, and she got even angrier when Dave, too, refused to leave Emily alone in Michigan and would not return until Emily was home, and Aaron was in a hospital in Washington. Dave knew very well Strauss wasn't going to fire him, since he and Strauss had a secret affair going on that no one knew about...it was a thing that had started a few months ago, but he wanted it and so did she, and well, he kind of had Strauss wrapped around his little finger.

The team left that evening and Dave, Clyde and Emily stayed at the hospital until the next day. They had finally gotten Aaron out of ICU, and Emily was able to see him for a few minutes before the helicopter was ready to transfer him to Warren Memorial Hospital in Washington. Emily, almost scared, walked into the room quietly, to see him lying on the bed with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Aaron was connected to various machines and that terrified Emily. She stopped next to him; he looked like he was sleeping, and he had a few bruises on his face and bandages on his head. He looked so vulnerable and that pained her so much. She slowly sat on the edge of the bed and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't believe this was happening to him, he was so strong and able to withstand anything…he had to come to soon.

She sat there next to him, holding his hand gently and crying. Emily was unable to utter a word she was so broken-hearted, and even if she could, he probably wasn't going to hear her. She placed a kiss on his forehead and one on his lips. Emily cried quietly on his chest for a little while unable to content herself any longer, and she stood there hugging him and crying on his chest until one of the doctors came and told her it was time to take him to the helicopter. She nodded and placed one more kiss on his forehead, and then she walked out of the room to where Dave and Clyde were waiting for her to drive her back to Washington.

Aaron was successfully transferred to the hospital in Washington, and Emily was able to get back to her daughter. Haley was in shock and heartbroken when she heard the news about Aaron...she couldn't believe that Aaron was battling for his life, and that the affair had been a total lie, he had never cheated on Emily...a part of her was so relieved because she had always known Aaron was a faithful man, and she was happy she could still keep that concept of him. Emily and Haley agreed not to tell the kids anything about Aaron's health situation that they were too little to understand; they didn't even want the children at the hospital until their daddy was better. Of course, the first couple of days were very long and exhausting, and the news about Aaron's health situation had been rough for everyone especially now that the truth was out, and they had discovered he had never betrayed his family, nor had he ever cheated on Emily and everything he had done was to protect his family.

Helen was just as devastated as Emily, she felt very guilty about the way she had treated her son, when she had believed he had disrespected his marriage with Emily. She had been out of the country for a few weeks but she returned as soon as Emily called her about Aaron's situation, and she felt heartbroken and in so much pain it was indescribable. Perhaps, Helen was the only one that could understand the kind of immense pain Emily was going through, because nothing could be compared to having the love of your life in a coma, if not having your son in a coma. Between Helen and Emily, they alternated watching Lanny and staying with Aaron at the hospital; of course, everyone else wanted to stay at the hospital with Aaron, too, to help Emily and Aaron. But, it wasn't the same for Emily and her mother-in-law. Both wanted to stay at the hospital every single minute of the day, if it wasn't Helen then it was Emily who was there; they set up a routine so one of them was there all the time. Helen stayed at the hospital in the morning while Alana was at school and Emily was at work. Emily had not returned to her full active duty position; instead the Bureau had let her return to her old desk position while Aaron was in the hospital. She worked in the morning and until around four o'clock in the afternoon, then she would pick up Alana at school and go home with her, spending a few hours with her making dinner and checking her homework. Of course, Clyde was still in Washington, and he had refused to leave Emily alone until Aaron came to. Clyde was his own boss, so he could take all the time off he wanted.

Around seven o'clock Emily would come back to the hospital, and she would leave Lanny with Clyde for a bit while she went back to the hospital to relieve Helen, so Helen could go home and put Alana to bed and rest some. Emily stayed at the hospital for the rest of the night until it was time to begin the day all over again.

They had hoped that would only happen a couple of days, but their painful wait had turned into weeks now, and Emily was about to have a nervous breakdown. She had barely slept in almost two weeks, she had napped a little in the chair in the room Aaron was in, but she had not had a full night's sleep since they had gone after Foyet. In addition to that, Emily had lost several pounds, and she looked very haggard and her eyes literally looked like she had black bruises under them. Clyde had tried on several occasions to make her go home and sleep, offering to spend the night with Aaron and call if he had any news, but Emily blatantly refused to leave the hospital until Aaron came to.

The sad thing was that Aaron had been in a coma for three weeks now, and there were still no signs of any responses from his body. Emily couldn't take the pain any more, she simply didn't have the strength to fight. She had almost fainted that morning while she was in the shower, and she didn't want to tell anyone because they would force her to stay home. But, Emily had to admit her body and mind were exhausted, she just didn't know how much more of this she could take. Emily's mind was her worst enemy at the present time: Was Aaron going to wake up soon? What if it took him months? Or years? What if he never woke up again?

Emily finally arrived at the hospital, and Helen left to go home to be with Lanny for the rest of the night. Emily sat down in the chair and tried to relax for a bit, but she simply couldn't, being in the room just made her so much more vulnerable, the smell the hospital, the image in front of her of Aaron unconscious and so vulnerable, it shattered her soul in tiny pieces. She read to him, but Aaron was still not coming back and she didn't t know what else to do. She knew she needed to sleep, but she didn't want to leave him, she was exhausted and she wanted to hold her daughter. Emily felt so guilty because she paid almost no attention to Alana since they had been back, and she knew she couldn't continue like this.

After being in the room for almost an hour, she started to feel suffocated, like she couldn't breathe anymore. She thought if she walked out of the room for a moment she would feel better and it would clear her head; maybe she needed some air, so, she decided to step outside the hospital. The night was breezy and you could see your cold breath if you exhaled…When Emily got outside, she still felt she couldn't breathe and heavy tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she started to choke on her own sobs. Without even thinking, Emily got in her car and drove away, she needed to be away from the hospital for just a few minutes, or she was sure she was going to have a heart attack.

Emily began to drive aimlessly, sobbing loudly, and she started hyperventilating, and her mind was getting foggy. She made a right turn at the end of the road and began to drive down the street, but her mind wasn't on the road. For a minute, she felt like her own mind had left her body. She wasn't aware of the tractor/trailer rig coming toward her at a high rate of speed, the bright lights of the tractor/trailer finally blinding her, then she heard the loud honk of the tractor/trailer as they were just inches apart. Emily didn't know how she did it, but she turned her steering wheel in the other direction and forced her car off the road as the tractor/trailer went passed her at a very fast speed exactly in the place she had been. Her heart began to beat faster than ever, and she finally let everything out…she got out of her car and fell on her knees in the cold grass, screaming at the top of her lugs and sobbing heavily. While on her knees, she prayed to God to help her get through this period in her life because she didn't think she could handle this on her own much longer, and she needed His help; and she asked for God's help to heal Aaron and bring him back to her and his children and to the job he loved so much for the good of the country, because he was so dedicated to making his world a better place. Emily stood there on the side of the road sobbing for at least thirty minutes, the soft rain sprinkling her but she didn't care, she needed to let everything out. She cried for a very long time, and when she finally was able to compose herself and calmed down, she got in her car, made a u turn and returning to the hospital. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she was calmer. She parked her car again and went back into Aaron's room.

She slowly walked backed in, pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat very close to him. Her face and hair was disheveled and her clothes were still damp, her makeup had run off, and she looked like a complete mess.

She grabbed his hand and kissed it when she started speaking to him. Emily knew there probably was no point because he couldn't hear her, but she had to let it out, she had to tell him how she felt about him or she was going to collapse.

"I can't do this anymore, Aaron. I...just can't." She began, in between hiccups.

"You have to wake up, baby, please, you need to wake up...everyone needs you." She said, holding his hand to her face as she cried.

"Your mother and your kids...Lanny can't stop asking about you, and Jack...and I need you, Aaron." She confessed.

"I can't live without you, I just don't know how to...you're my life. I need you, please...wake up, my love, I'm begging you." Emily stood there crying and talking to him.

"I love you, Aaron, I love you more than anything in this world. You're my life. I can't be without you. Please, please, wake up...I need you...I'll die without you." She sobbed and spoke to him for a very long time…until she had cried every single tear within her system, until she finally fall sleep with her face resting on the edge of the bed, all the while holding his hand.

Aaron tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't, he had felt a very heavy object hit his head and everything had gone blank, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Foyet on top of him and felt the knife as it perforated his skin several times; as Foyet talked to him, as he was laughing about him and making fun of him, one by one he felt every one of the nine stabs. Aaron could feel his body getting numb, and his vision become blurred, and he was losing consciousness again, but he had to get up, he had to fight Foyet, he had to kill him! He felt a pair of warm hands holding his face, then he heard a familiar voice, her beautiful voice calling his name...he opened his eyes again and watched Emily crying holding his face, but he couldn't hear her any longer. A very bright light started to blind him, and he felt it as his body started to move toward the light. It was kind of comforting now, he couldn't hear or feel anything anymore, and the pain and the coldness was gone. Now, he was surrounded by warmth, and he kept walking toward the light, something kept telling him to keep walking that way, and everything would be good. That same something told him he had to let go, that it was his time to go, he was dying and he knew it, as much as he wanted to fight this, it felt good, the most amazing feeling he had ever experienced, the calm, the peace of it was extraordinary. He watched as a couple of white figures appeared as he walked toward them. Who were they, and what was going on...the figures kept calling his name, and he felt himself smile. Dying wasn't such a bad experience, it felt so wonderful. He was just a few feet closer to the figures, when he heard the voice again, and he turned around...at first, it was almost a whisper, but then it became clearer. It was Emily! She was crying, and she was calling him; he ran back in her direction trying to find out where Emily's voice was coming through, but he couldn't get to her.

"_Your mother and your kids...Lanny can't stop asking about you, and Jack...and I need you, Aaron." _Emily cried, but he couldn't get to her, he needed to find her and tell her everything was going to be all right.

"_I love you Aaron...I love you more than anything in this world...you are my life...I can't be without you. Please...please...wake up...I need you. I will die without you" _He couldn't get to her, suddenly he began to feel liquid on his hands, like water or something, or was it her tears?

What was going on, he keep running in the opposite direction from the light, and her voice was becoming lower every time he heard it. He couldn't hear her anymore, suddenly he felt like he was falling down an abyss...he kept falling rapidly, and he didn't know what the hell was going on. Suddenly, he hit something that felt like ground, but everything was so dark he couldn't see anything, he had never seen so much darkness in his life. Aaron tried to rub his eyes, but he still couldn't see anything. He finally blinked a couple of times, and the darkness began to disappear, everything was so blurry, but there was no longer any darkness. He blinked again and his vision got clearer; he opened his eyes slowly, and he was blinded by a light again, only it wasn't the same light, it looked like a light bulb, wait! It was a light bulb. He tried to move but wasn't very successful, but he slowly watched as the room became clearer and clearer, wait! What was going on, this wasn't heaven, it looked like a room, and what was that beeping noise? He was in a room kind of like a hospital room, his eyes moved slowly in the direction the beeping was coming from, it was a monitor, he was, indeed. in a hospital...how had he gotten there? He moved his head slowly to the other side, he watched the raven- disheveled-haired woman and then he realized that it was Emily. She was sound sleep. She was sitting in the chair by his bed with her face on the side of his bed; he then felt the warm hand that was squeezing his tightly. Aaron tried to move his hand to hers, but it was hard...he finally was able to tighten his hand around the soft warm hand of Emily.

Emily stirred in her sleep; she had cried for so many hours that she must have fallen asleep, and something had woken her up...wait! She felt it again...the pressure on her hand. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the hand that was trying to squeeze hers, her eyes immediately looked up, his eyes were open, but he look very confused.

"Oh my God, Aaron." She gasped in shock!


	22. Chapter 22

**A Deal With The Devil**

Chapter 22: Back to Reality

Emily stirred in her sleep; she had cried for so many hours she must have fallen asleep and something had awakened her...wait! She felt it again...the pressure on her hand. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the hand that was trying to squeeze hers, her eyes immediately looked up, his eyes were open, but he look very confused.

"Oh my God, Aaron." She gasped in shock!

"Foyet?" Aaron uttered, almost inaudibly.

"He's dead...it's over, everything is over!" She said, smiling widely and holdings his hand gently as tears rolled down her cheeks. Aaron was more conscious now and more aware of his surroundings, he was feeling very weak, but with a lot of effort, he reached his arm to hug her as tears rolled down his own cheeks.

"Emily...I'm...sorry..." He spoke, as his eyes filled with tears.

"Don't, please, not now...you need to be fine first." Emily said gently, caressing his face, but she couldn't stop the tears that were streaming from her eyes; she didn't want to talk right now, not like this at the hospital when he had just awakened from a coma. Aaron was going to say something else, but Emily stood up almost avoiding his gaze.

"I'm going to get the doctor. They need to check on you." She smiled and walked out of the room...There were so many things crossing her mind right now, but nothing mattered at the moment. She was just happy he had awakened, and that was all that mattered. She quickly closed her eyes, and offering up a prayer thanking God for bringing him back to her, then she wiped her eyes and went to find the doctor.

The doctors where completely surprised about his quick recovery; they had imagined he would be in a coma state for at least several months due to his injuries, and for the lack of oxygen and blood his brain had suffered. They immediately rushed to his room to check on Aaron, and while the doctors were checking his heart, pulse and other vital signs, his eyes remained on Emily who was standing close by but out of the doctor's way. He was so happy she was there...he had been so afraid that he would never see her again, but she was here. Aaron knew they needed to talk, and they would eventually, but for now, he was thankful she was fine, and now that he knew Foyet was dead, he felt so much better. He wasn't sure what or how it had happened, and to be honest, he didn't remember much...he remembered going to Foyet's father's house and finding Foyet there, and Foyet's father's death, but then he lost consciousness. From then on, he only remembered things in flashes, Foyet stabbing him, hence why he was in the hospital, then he remembered Emily holding his face, wait! Emily was there, too, that meant she knew the whole truth, didn't it? His eyes remained on her, and she was smiling at him sadly, tears rolling down her beautiful face. He hated himself so much for all the pain he had caused her. But, Foyet was gone and with him out of their lives, he could fix everything now, couldn't he.

The doctors told Emily they would take him back to the ICU for a few hours to run some additional tests on him, check up on his injuries and run a couple more cat scans and electrocardiograms then to check on his hearing again. Emily nodded and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before they took him to ICU. Aaron, however, couldn't help but notice she was acting odd, somewhat cold and distant, she was happy to see him, yes, but she was not completely normal, but he understood that after everything he had put her through; she had every right to act like that...he could only hope when they finally had the chance to talk, she would forgive him.

While Aaron was being checked Emily called everyone to let them know he had awakened. The team was still on a case in Minneapolis, and they would be home later that day, but they promised they would be there as soon as they landed. Helen was ecstatic and told Emily as soon as she dropped Lanny off at school, she would be there; Clyde, of course, was already on his way to be there. Haley was very happy as well and promised she would bring Jack over after school since he couldn't stop asking about his dad, and she wanted to let him see Aaron now that he was awake.

Clyde arrived at the hospital within twenty minutes of Emily's call, he walked in and she immediately jumped in his arms smiling and crying at the same time. He held her tightly, he knew she just needed to be held right now. And he stood there holding her for about half hour until she finally pulled away, giving him a watery smile. Clyde realized that her hair was all disheveled, and she literally looked like she had been crying heavily.

"You look like hell, darling." He said, smiling gently.

"Why, thank you...aren't you nice." Emily smiled, not offended in the least.

"Why don't you go home while he's being checked to freshen up, and I'll stay here?" He told her, holding her hand.

"No, I don't want to leave him." She said stubbornly.

"Emily, darling, he is awake already...we have to be thankful for that, he is going be inside there for at least an hour, if not more." He observed.

"Don't you want to be fresh and beautiful when he comes out again?" He asked her, knowing she had been at work all day and gone home for a few hours then straight back to the hospital.

"What are you trying to say, that I look ugly right now?" Emily asked, arching her eyebrows...Clyde laughed, because he couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her.

"No, you look beautiful like a beautiful homeless...but you look...beautiful." He smiled a big smile at her. Emily slapped his chest playfully.

"!Clyde!" She scolded him playfully, but he smiled and pulled her into his arms.

"Come on, go home take a shower, take your daughter to school, and then you and Helen can come back." He told her again. Emily doubted him for a second, but she did need a shower, and she also wanted to see her baby girl so badly. She finally nodded and gave Clyde another hug and kiss on the cheek and left the hospital for a few hours.

When she arrived home, it was almost six in the morning, Helen was already up and she had showered and was now starting breakfast for Alana before she went to wake her for breakfast and to take her to school. Emily walked into the kitchen and didn't even wait...she walked into Helen's arms, as both cried tears of happiness.

"I told you we had to have faith, honey," Helen said, wiping Emily's eyes.

"I know, God answered our prayers." Emily stated and smiled.

"Do you want to take a nap while I take Lanny to school and go to the hospital, and you can meet me there later?" Helen asked, knowing Emily had not slept in weeks, and she needed to rest.

"No, it's okay, I'm going to shower real quickly, and then I want to wake Lanny. We can drive her to school together and go see Aaron after that." Emily smiled.

"You need to rest, honey. You've been watching after him every night, you need to sleep as well," Helen said kindly.

"I'll sleep tonight, I promise. Right now, I want to go back there in case he needs anything." Emily said. Helen grabbed her hands gently.

"He is so lucky to have such an amazing and wonderful woman as a wife, I don't know what we'd do without you." Helen said. With tears forming in her eyes. Emily smiled, hugging her and kissing her forehead.

"I'll be back, okay." Emily said, going upstairs to her room to take a shower. She was exhausted that was true, but she was immensely happy. Aaron had awakened, and that was all that mattered right now.

Emily took a shower, freshened her makeup, changed into new clothes and then walked into her daughter's room. She had not seen her a lot over the last couple of weeks, and that really hurt her, but, thankfully, that was over. Mommy would be home every night with her daughter, and hopefully, she could still see Jack, too. She sat gently next to her daughter and watched her for a few minute; she looked so beautiful and peaceful sleeping. She wanted to always give her that, a safe home where she felt peace, safe, and loved. She ran her finger gently on her sweet innocent cheeks and leaned forward kissing her forehead, then her cheeks and then her neck and her tummy. She knew exactly how to wake up her baby girl.

Alana stirred in her sleep, and Emily continued placing gentle kisses all over her sweet face and body until the little girl opened her eyes sleepily. However, as soon as she saw who had awakened her, her little face lit up.

"Mommy," Lanny cried happily, waking up completely and jumping into her mother's arms.

Emily smiled widely and pulled her daughter into her arms hugging her as tightly as she could.

"Hello, my beautiful baby" Emily said with a wide smile.

"You didn't go to work today." The little girl said happily.

"No, baby, mommy is taking you to school today." She told her, helping her out of bed.

"Yayyyyyy!" Lanny bounced on the bed.

"Come on, we have to get you dressed for school." Emily said, picking her daughter up and walking toward the closet to get her daughter's uniform.

Once Lanny was dressed, Emily started combing her hair with two pigtails in her daughter's hair and placed a blue bow in each of the ends, matching the color of her uniform...her curly hair looked adorable in pigtails.

"Okay baby, ready?" Emily asked. Lanny nodded and grabbed her mother's hand, and they were just about to walk out of the room when Lanny stopped her...

"Wait mommy, I forgot something!" Lanny exclaimed, running back inside her room. Emily watched as she picked up a piece of paper from her coloring table.

"Look mommy, I made this picture for you!" Lanny cried happily. Emily walked back inside the room and took the picture form her daughter's hand.

It was a drawing of her family with everyone's names on the top. Emily and Aaron were in the middle holding hands, and Jack and Alana were on each side of them holding their hands; on the other side of Alana was Helen and next to Helen was a dog that was the only one that had no name.

Emily smiled widely and got on her knees for a minute hugging her daughter.

"I love it, it's so beautiful, but, what's with the puppy?" Emily asked, amused.

"Oh that's the puppy you're going to get me." Lanny said, in a matter of fact tone.

"I'm getting you a puppy?" When did we have this conversation?" Emily asked, smiling...confused at the four year old.

"Mmmmmm, well, we haven't, but you said I could get anything for my birthday, so I want a puppy." Lanny said, smiling at her mother, Emily smirked, she was definitely her clone.

"I did say that, baby, but I wasn't talking about a puppy...I was talking about something for you to play with, a puppy doesn't count." Emily tried to explain.

"Yes, it does, you said I could have anything I wanted, a puppy is something I can play with, and you never said a puppy didn't count. You can't change the rules now." Alana reasoned. Emily watched her in amusement. Alana was right, she had not told her a puppy wouldn't count, and therefore, the puppy had been on the list of things, if she had not said it wasn't, okay, she could only wait until she turned fifteen, and she tried to negotiate with her.

"Ummmmmm, how about we talk about it later?" Emily said, trying to change the subject.

"Okay, but I'm not going to change my mind, I want a puppy for my birthday." Lanny said firmly, as she walked away from the room, Emily following after her rolling her eyes. Oh, she was sure of that, the one thing Lanny had inherited from her was her stubbornness.

They ate breakfast together with Granma, and Lanny was so ecstatic to have her mother with her that she insisted on eating sitting on her mother's lap. Emily usually didn't allowed that type of behavior at the table, but she had not been home for a while, and she knew her daughter was a little hurt and needed a little pampering from her mother, so she allowed it this one time and explained to Lanny that it was a special time.

After they finished breakfast, it was time to take Lanny to school and go back to the hospital. Everyone got in the car and drove to Lanny's school first, but while on the way, Lanny make an unusual request.

"Mommy, I don't want to go to school today." She stated very firmly.

"You don't, why not...does your tummy hurt?" Emily asked and got a head shake.

"Are you sick?" Another head shake.

"Then why?" Emily asked, looking at Lanny through the rear view mirror.

"I want to go with you to work." Lanny said, looking at her mother.

"My work? Why, baby? That had really surprised her.

"I want to see daddy." Okay, that got both Emily's and Helen's attention.

"What!?" Emily asked in shock.

"You said daddy has been doing a lot of work, and that's why he hasn't come home, so can I go to his work with you, that way, I can see him." Lanny said, smiling with her pigtails bouncing around.

Emily felt heartbroken and looked at Helen who seemed to be in the same state of shock as she was in.

"You want to see daddy, baby?" Emily asked, holding her tears back. Lanny nodded, smiling widely.

"Okay, I guess for this once you can miss school." She smiled, turning on the next street to drive directly to the hospital. On the way there, Emily called the school reporting that Alana was going to miss the day, and Helen squeezed her hand and smiled at her; taking Alana to see Aaron wasn't a bad idea; he was out of his coma, and she knew that he was dying to see his kids. Haley was going to bring Jack over, too, so it would be great to have both of his children visiting him.

Emily parked at the hospital, and they were going to get out of the car when Lanny looked around confused.

"Mommy, what are we doing here, we have to go see daddy at your work." Her daughter exclaimed upset. Helen turned around to look at Emily.

"Go inside, I'll handle this." She smiled at Helen and she nodded and left Emily and her daughter to talk. Emily got out of her car and climbed in the back to sit with her daughter.

"Baby, mommy needs to talk to you..." She said, placing Lanny on her lap.

Her daughter just looked at her confused…wonder if she was she in trouble.

"Sweetheart, daddy is a little sick so he's here in the hospital." Lanny looked at her mother scared. Okay, she was little, but she knew people went to the hospital when they were ill, or something happened to them. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Why?" -Lanny asked, pouting at her mother.

"Well, he got hurt at work, so he had to come here, but he's fine now. That is why we came to see him, but he's still a little delicate, so you have to be gentle with him." Lanny nodded, scared, thinking...why was her daddy hurt?

"Come on, let's go see daddy, okay, we can get him a gift so he feels better." Lanny nodded again, and Emily got out of the car carrying her daughter. She walked toward the hospital with Lanny still in her arms.

They walked inside and went to the floor that Aaron had been on. When they arrived at the waiting room, Helen and Clyde were sitting on the couches.

"They just brought him back to his room, and they told us to wait a bit before we went in." Helen informed Emily nervously.

Emily nodded and sat down next to them, as Lanny walked to sit next to Clyde, smiling contently.

"Mommy, can we get the gift for daddy now?" She asked impatiently.

"In a little while, sweetheart, we have to wait for the doctors first." Emily smiled at her daughter, and Lanny immediately pouted at her mother.

"I'll take her, darling, you stay here and wait for the doctor." Clyde offered, standing up from the sofa and taking Lanny's hand, as the little girl bounced happily.

'He's a very good friend." Helen pointed out as they watched them walk away.

"He is, he always has been." Emily said smiling. She truly was thankful to have him as a friend; after all, he had dropped everything to come to her rescue, and he had been there for nearly a month now. She was definitely grateful to have him in her life.

Lanny and Clyde returned a little later, with Lanny was now holding a big blue balloon that said "Get Well" and a cute teddy bear. She sat next to Clyde again, and the doctors returned to tell them it was okay for them to go inside now, and that he was in good condition, and if the tests came back okay, he would be able to go home in a few days. Of course, he was going to need a lot of recovery time at home, but he was going to be able to leave the hospital for which they were grateful.

"Come on, guys go in." I'll wait for you here, Clyde offered.

"Actually, I…um ...need to make some calls to the team still...go in with Lanny, Helen..." Emily said nervously. Helen, however, didn't realize what was going on, and she simply nodded taking Lanny's hand and walking into the room.

"Who do you have to call?" Clyde asked curiously.

"The team...and Strauss..." Emily offered weakly.

"I thought you had already called them..." Clyde looked at her and studied her, really studied her.

"I did, but I have to call again to see when they're coming." Emily said, looking at her phone.

"Emily." Clyde started, but she stood up and walked away.

"I'll be back in a second." She said, walking away with her phone; Clyde just looked at her…she was avoiding going in, of that he was sure.

Helen walked inside the room and watched her son lying on the hospital bed. His eyes were closed, but he opened them immediately when he heard them coming in. As soon as he saw his mother and his daughter, he smiled widely.

"How are you feeling?" Helen asked gently, smiling at her son, as tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm okay, a little dizzy, but okay." He said softly, then his eyes landed on the little girl that was holding the stuffed teddy bear and the big blue balloon.

"Hi, princess." He smiled, with watery eyes.

"Hi, daddy, are you okay?" Lanny asked, scared.

"I am, baby." Helen picked Lanny up and sat her at the edge of the bed, and with her help, Aaron sat up and pulled his daughter into his arms, hugging her as tears rolled down his face. Lanny pulled away and looked at the bandage he had on his shoulder and the few scars that had almost faded.

It's okay, baby, daddy is fine, the doctors made sure I was completely fine." Aaron told his daughter in a comforting tone. Lanny smiled shyly and gave him the teddy bear.

"This is for me?" Aaron asked, smiling widely at the four year old. His daughter nodded smiling, revealing the Hotchner dimples.

"Yes, so you can feel better." The little girl said happily.

"Thank you, Sweetie, it's very pretty, but you know what would make feel even better? A kiss from the most beautiful princess in the world." Aaron smiled.

Lanny laughed and threw her arms around her dad again and kissed him, and Helen smiled contently at the image in front of her.

Then, she finally approached her son and hugged him, as tears rolled down her face.

"Hey, no tears, please, I'm fine." He kissed his mother's hand.

"My poor baby." Helen said, and placed a kiss on his head. Lanny and Helen stayed in the room for a little while talking to him. Aaron was so happy to see his family again.

Shortly after that, the team arrived and everyone took turns going inside to see Hotch…everyone was so happy that he had awakened, and he was fine. They were happy that the worst part was over for him and for Emily, and they could restart their life again. Dave, of course, was the one who took the longest time inside the room with Aaron; not only was he happy to see his best friend doing so well, but he knew that Aaron needed to know certain things, so after he made sure everything was okay with his health, he filled Aaron in with everything that had happened after he left to look for Foyet, and what was inside the house. He also told Aaron it was Emily who had killed Foyet and saved him. Hotch was in shock, he remembered he had seen Emily there, and that she had held his face, but he had just assumed she had arrived with the team. He was in complete shock to know that Emily had gone by herself with Clyde after Foyet, and that it was she who had fought Foyet and killed him.

He also found out Kate had told Emily the truth about the affair being a lie, and that Hotch had done everything to protect her and his family. Emily had saved his life, she knew the truth and she had risked her own life to save his…he closed his eyes. He wanted to see her to thank her, to pull her into his arms and tell her that he was sorry for everything he had done, to beg her for forgiveness and get on his knees in front of her until she had said she will forgive him. But Emily had disappeared since he had woken up, and she had not returned since. Dave told him to be patient with her because she had been dealing with doctors and everything else, and he also told Aaron to be very aware that Emily had been through a lot, and he needed to give her time. Yes, she knew the truth now that Aaron had done everything he had done to protect his family, but Emily had still been through a lot, especially in the last couple of weeks. Dave told him that Emily loved him fiercely, otherwise, she would never have gone after Foyet to find him, and that she had been there every night for the last three weeks without sleeping, and just be patient and let time heal things between them. He understood that quite well, he knew that he had hurt Emily even if the affair wasn't true, he still had hurt her deeply and that it would take time to recover for both of them but their love for each other was so strong they would overcome everything in the end.

Clyde was outside the room in the waiting area with Emily who had found at least ten different excuses why she wasn't going in the room yet. Clyde knew her too well and realized she needed to let out whatever it was that was on her mind.

"Let's go get some coffee, darling." Clyde said, holding out his hand for her, Emily smiled widely as she definitely needed some coffee. So, they left to get some coffee; however, she was surprised when Clyde didn't take her to the cafeteria downstairs, instead he took her to a coffee shop across the street from the hospital. They walked to the coffee shop in silence, and when they arrived at the shop, Clyde ordered for both him and Emily since he knew Emily's choice of coffee by heart. They sat down at a table outside the shop that was covered with and umbrella.

"Do you want to tell me what is going on with you...because soon you are going to run out of excuses for why you are not going in there?" Clyde said, looking at her sternly. Emily just looked away, unable to respond.

"What's on your mind, Em, talk to me." Clyde said, squeezing her hand gently.

"I don't know." She finally said, looking at him. Clyde just sat there in silence, looking at her. He knew she was going to open up, he just needed to give her a few seconds, about ten minutes passed by, and they just sat there drinking coffee in silence until Emily finally spoke to him.

"A big part of me is relieved and grateful that he's fine and he woke up. Aaron is the love of my life, and if something would've happened to him, I would've died, Clyde. I don't think I would have been able to survive it. You have no idea how grateful I am that he is okay, that he is going to be fine." Emily said, with tears in her eyes.

"But?" Clyde questioned, looking at her.

"Another part of me is so furious at him, so angry at the actions he took. Okay, I get that he was trying to protect me and his kids, but..." Tears began to roll down her cheeks finally, and Clyde just listened until she was done talking.

"I'm his wife, Clyde, he could have come to me, and we could have fixed this together...instead, he pushed me away...he made me believe he had had an affair." Tears were rolling freely through from eyes, and she couldn't stop them.

"Do you have any idea what I went through, how much it pained me to think he had found someone better than me, someone who make him happier?" She said angrily.

"Do you have any idea the kind of pain the kids went through when daddy wasn't coming home anymore, and all for what, Clyde for a personal vendetta with a criminal..."-She stated.

"And all for what, Clyde, he could be dead right now, and what about us, his children and me?"

"Does he even realize the horrible pain that we could have gone through if he had died, to his mother, to the children, I mean, did he ever think about any of these things?" Emily questioned angrily. Clyde handed her a napkin and watched as she wiped her eyes and calmed down.

"Emily, I can only imagine what you went through all this time before you contacted me, I can understand why you feel angry and hurt." Clyde said, gently taking her hand.

"I also know that believing that your husband had betrayed you was very difficult for you...and the kids...and you have every reason to feel furious at him, for all the pain he caused you and the kids." Clyde pointed out.

"I'm sure that believing the love of your life has betrayed you is one of the most difficult things in life, but I would like to think that it is more difficult having someone hate you because they believe you cheated on them, when in reality, all you were trying to do was keep that person safe." That got Emily's attention.

"You got all the support from all your friends and family even from his mother, from me." Emily just kept looking at him in shock.

"Can you imagine how much he suffered knowing he had not done anything, and everyone thought the worst of him? Aaron had no one that stood by his side, when in reality, he was just protecting his family." Emily looked away…she had not thought about that at all.

"He risked his own life, Em, and everything he had, he sacrificed his own happiness, he gave it all to protect you and his kids, knowing that he might never catch Foyet, and that he might lose you and the love and respect of his kids forever. He sacrificed it all to keep you guys safe."

"That, Emily, shows a tremendous amount of guts that I completely admire, and an indescribable and unbelievable amount of love for someone." Clyde said, putting his finger under her chin to make her look at him.

"If that doesn't show you how much Aaron loves you, I don't know what will." Clyde told her, looking at her very seriously.

Emily looked at Clyde with tears rolling down her cheeks; he stood up and pulled her to him for a hug. He then took her back to the hospital. When they arrived, Jack and Haley were there…Jack had just seen Aaron, and he was very happy everyone was gathered outside, content that Aaron was fine, and that their family was complete again. Emily sneaked from the crowd and walked into the room quietly. Aaron was looking at the ceiling when she came in, but as soon as he heard the door open, he looked up and saw her. His face immediately lit up and filled with tears.

"How are you?" Emily asked him, getting closer playing with her hands behind her back.

"I'm good, I feel a little groggy, though." He smiled at her.

"Maybe you should try to sleep some." Emily suggested. Aaron smiled shyly and pulled out his hand to reach for hers. She took his hand and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Em, I'm so sorry." But she shook her head, pulling him into her arms, finally letting the barriers break down, they both lay there crying in each other's arms for a very long time. He pulled away and wiped her eyes gently.

"I know we have a lot to talk about." He started.

"Not right now, Aaron, I want to talk, too, but right now, I need you to be okay, and recover and get healthy." She told him, wiping his tears, too. Aaron just nodded; he also knew that he needed to be fine first before they sat down to talk. He pulled her to him for another hug.

"Try to sleep some, please." Emily said, caressing his face gently.

"Will you be here?" Aaron asked, feeling sleep overtake him..

"I will always be here." Emily smiled shyly, and watched as he closed his eyes, holding her hand tightly and falling asleep.


	23. Chapter 23

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 23: Forgiveness And Some More

It had been almost four weeks since Aaron had been released from the hospital, and of course, as was expected, it had been very difficult for everyone especially for Aaron. He was unable to return to work immediately, partly because the doctors told him it would take a few months for him to fully recover enough to go back to work, and partly because he had not really talked to the Bureau about his actions. Strauss, of course, wanted him fired immediately...she knew this would be the perfect excuse to get rid of him, claiming that his actions had been unethical and against protocol. The Bureau, however, believed Aaron had acted in such a way in order to protect his family which, of course, given Foyet's history was completely acceptable. The remainder of the team and Emily had been put in a probationary period...this was due to Strauss's poison...but they were glad there had not been any major consequences.

The situation with Aaron would just have to wait until he was cleared by the doctors to come back to work, and he could deal with the Bureau; but, honestly, he wasn't really worried, even if he did end up losing his job, there was so much he could do with his skills that he wasn't worried about the BAU. Aaron did not regret his decision, he would do it all over again. Yes, there were many consequences for the actions he had taken, but he had kept his family safe, and it had been worth every second of the pain he had gone through. Eventually, time would heal everything else...for now, he was thankful he was alive, and this entire nightmare was over.

At this point, he had not talked to Emily, not because he really didn't want to, but because time had not really allowed it. He also had not returned to his old house yet, he and Emily both had agreed that he needed to fully recover and get healthy before he came back home. It was harsh, yes, because Emily missed him and he missed her, but it was the best thing to do. Aaron stayed at his apartment...the first couple of weeks he had been mostly in bed and healing, and Aaron did not want Jack or Lanny witnessing that, and during that time, Jack spent a lot of time with Emily. Helen had stayed with him at the apartment while he was in recovery. She wanted to be with him as much possible as he needed, making sure he was eating well and everything was fine. Emily, too, was constantly checking on him, making sure he was following the instructions the doctors had given him, and that he was getting everything that he needed. While they were not living together yet, she checked on him daily. They were being rather formal to each other...there was love between them because there always would be, but they had not found time to sit down and talk, and frankly, Emily wanted him to fully recover first since the conversation they needed to have was really a very unpleasant one.

The recovery was going very well, and he was able to perform most of his daily activities comfortably. There were, however, things that he still needed to do carefully, but he felt good most of the time. The hardest part of the recovery were the horrible scars that he now had on his chest...that would always remind him of his encounter with Foyet. His doctor had talked with him about possible reconstructive surgery to make the scars less visible, but number one, he wasn't really a candidate to go through that process yet, the doctors wanted to wait a little longer for his scars to fully heal and perhaps, later they could start the surgery, and number two, he wasn't really sure if he wanted the surgery at all. Yes, the scars were horrible, and he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror without feeling self-conscious, but those scars also showed a part of his life that had changed him forever, and as hard and devastating as it was, what he had gone through, he always saw life as a learning experience, and he knew those scars would only make him better and stronger. So, for now, he wanted to leave the scars subject alone, and focus on other life aspects that were more important...like getting his life back together and recovering the love of the woman that owned his heart. Aaron had to repair everything that had been broken between them while the deal was going on with Foyet because this had not only affected his and Emily's lives, but it had also affected his children's lives, along with his mother's and his team's. He had to find a way to repair it all, but for now, his family was the most important part so that was where he was going to focus.

He woke very early Sunday morning, and he decided it was him who was going to make breakfast for his mother, since she had been so wonderful to him the last couple of weeks. He wanted to do something nice for her, have a little talk, and then he had to pick up Lanny, he had asked Emily to let him take Lanny for the day since he wanted to spend his whole day with her, just him and Lanny. He had spent the previous day with Jack, and it had been just amazing, Jack was still too young to understand what had happened, but he needed to find a way to talk to him and tell him that he loved him with all his heart and try to repair the damage, and to his surprise, Jack had handled things like a trooper. Jack told Aaron everything would be fine, then Jack hugged him and told Aaron he was very proud to be his son. That had actually brought tears to his eyes, but he was happy...now Aaron had to take his day with his beautiful princess and try to explain things to her, too.

He made breakfast as silently as he could and he tried to focus on his day and what he had to do, he was planning to take Alana to the children's museum and maybe to buy her any gift she wanted. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee when his mother walked in the kitchen.

"It smells delicious." Helen stated, smiling widely at him.

"I made quiche. I know this wonderful woman who loves quiche." His dimples showing deeply.

"Mmmmmm...I get to be spoiled today?" Helen asked, walking further into the kitchen and hugging her son, kissing his cheek.

"Always...you know it, come on, and sit down." Aaron offered, smiling and pouring a cup of steaming coffee for his mother. Helen sat down, smiling widely, Aaron joined her soon, and they both sat down to eat breakfast together.

When they were finished, Helen cleared the plates and poured more coffee for both of them with Helen still sitting next to her son and squeezing his hand gently.

"I know I never had a chance to say this, but I am truly sorry about all the pain I caused you while all of this was going on." Aaron started, holding his mother's hand.

"Son, if anyone has to apologize to you it's me for everything I said to you." Helen said, looking at him sadly.

"I cannot put into words how proud I am of you, of what you've become, of what you did to protect your wife and kids." Helen said caressing his face gently. Aaron took her hand in his and squeezed gently, placing a kiss on it.

"I had the best teacher in my life." He said, looking at her sweetly.

"I know all of this has been hard for you, the recovery, everything." Helen started in a comforting way. "You just need to be a little patient about everything, things will work out just fine."

"I know that. I do plan on finding a way of bringing the team back together, this affected them greatly, too. " Aaron pointed out.

"I was talking about Emily." Helen said, that caused Aaron to look down for a second, because it still hurt him not being able to hold her in his arms every night.

"That woman loves you more than words can even describe, you just need to give her time...this all was hard on everyone...but I think the one that suffered the most was Emily..."-Helen said gently, Aaron just look at her quietly nodding.

"I am giving her time, mom, I'm dying to be with her to hold her in my arms every night, but I also know that we both need to heal from this first...before we get back together." He said, giving her a short smile.

"I'm sure that will be soon, find a way to talk to her, to sit down and let everything out." His mother suggested.

"You won her heart once, I'm perfectly sure you'll be able to do it again." She smiled, standing up from the table and placing a kiss on his forehead.

Aaron knew that no matter what he had to do or how much time it cost him, he was going to win her heart again and win her forgiveness, and he was willing to do anything it took to get her back. He was going to fight for her even if it took him the rest of his life...he was going to get her back, of that he was very sure.

He went to shower and get ready so he could pick up his beautiful princess and spend some time with her. He truly had been looking forward to this day...he had everything planned: he was going to pick her up, take her to the children museum, then to buy her anything she wanted, after that, they would have dinner wherever she chose and talk about her upcoming birthday party since she was turning five in two months, and then he was going to drive her back to her mother's house.

Aaron picked Lanny up around ten that morning. Emily kissed his check when he arrived, and she was very polite and nice to him, although he couldn't help but notice there was still some ice between them, but it was understandable. He had to figure out a way to talk to her and get some time alone, just the two of them, he left the house with Lanny ready to start their day.

They spent the first half of the day at the Children's Museum...Alana was, of course, overjoyed and she loved being with her daddy all day. Alana was the easiest of them all to make amends with; that could be because she was only four, but still, he had to repair things between him and his princess and make her understand he was not going to leave her alone again. They played around the museum and even built a comet together out of recyclable materials, something that ended up being an amazing experience for both.

After they left the Children's Museum, they went to the toy store since Aaron had promised he would buy her a new Frozen Barbie doll that sang and said other things. She was ecstatic about the doll and about going home to show her mother the new doll for her collection of Frozen items. Aaron knew she had at least five other Frozen dolls, but his daughter was beyond happy, and that was all that mattered to him. After leaving the toy store, they drove to a restaurant near the Aquarium because it was one of Lanny's favorite places to eat, since they had tons of fish tanks throughout the restaurant, and it had several other activities for children to do. They sat down at a table near one of the fish tanks and waited for the waiter to take their order. Once she had left the table, he finally talked to his daughter about her coming birthday.

"Sweetheart, you're turning five in a couple of months..." Aaron said, smiling at his four year old.

I know, I'm going to be a big girl then. I can do anything I want." Lanny suggested happily.

"I wouldn't really say you can do anything you want, but...yes, you're growing which means you can do more things." Aaron said gently.

"Have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday?" Aaron asked.

"Mommy said I could have a big party, but I don't want a party." Lanny said seriously. No party, wow that was new!

"You don't?" Aaron asked, arching his eyebrows." Lanny shook her head "no".

"I want a puppy." She screamed happily. Okay, this was probably one of the few times he didn't know what to say to his daughter.

"Have you talked to mommy about this?" Aaron asked, knowing that Emily definitely needed a say in this.

"Yes, but she said we would talk later." Lanny said, smiling sadly.

"But, I don't want anything else, you never have to buy me a toy ever again!" Wow, and more wows, well, that was a pretty good bargain for a four year old, no more toys as an exchange for a puppy, that sounded reasonable, Aaron smiled widely.

"Okay, well, if this is really what you want, we can talk to mommy about it." Aaron suggested, as the server arrived to deliver their dinner.

"Can you convince her, daddy, please...you always convince her of everything." Lanny pouted, now, that made Aaron laugh out loud.

"I'll talk to mommy, okay, now, please eat your dinner." He ordered sweetly.

They finished their dinner and after Aaron paid the tab, they spent time looking at the fishes and other water animals. They had a great time together, and by the time Aaron was driving her back home, it was close to eight o'clock, and he knew she had school the next day so Emily would want her to go to bed early, Emily had told him she had already finished her homework so they were good on that part. He drove home thinking about his beautiful princess who was now sound sleep in the back of his car. He was so happy he had had the chance to spend all day with her, and they had a wonderful time. He had also had a nice talk with his mother and Jack, so things were definitely going in the right direction.

He arrived at his old house and got out of his car, picking up his daughter in his arms and walking toward the front door, and knocking at the door gently. A few minutes later, Emily came and opened the door, smiling at him…she was wearing jeans and a black sweater.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I'm late, she didn't want to leave the aquarium." Aaron apologized to her about the time.

"It's all right, I'm sure she had a blast." Emily said, looking at her baby girl who was now peacefully asleep in her dad's arms.

"Come on, let's put her to bed." Emily said, moving out of the way so he could come in. Aaron walked inside and began heading upstairs where her daughter's room was with Emily following after him.

They walked inside the room and both helped change Alana into her pajamas and tucked her in bed.

"So the aquarium, I thought you guys were going to go to the Children's Museum." Emily stated, picking up Lanny's dirty clothes and throwing them into the clothes hamper.

"We did, but we also went to the aquarium and the toy store." Aaron said, looking at her with a guilty smile. Emily smiled, rolling her eyes…she knew that he was so good at spoiling his kids.

"Oh, and she wants a puppy for her birthday." Aaron pointed out cautiously, Emily sighed.

"I know, she told me." She said, looking at him with questioning eyes.

"So, do we want to get her one?" Aaron asked, trying to get her opinion on the matter. Emily smiled and looked at him.

"I'm not so sure she's ready for a puppy…it's a big responsibility." Emily said honestly.

"But, it's the only thing she wants for her birthday." Aaron pointed out, looking at her with puppy eyes.

"Okay, how much did she pay you to convince me?" Emily joked.

Aaron just smiled, his dimples showing deeply, as they were both walking out of their little girl's room.

"I'll think about it, okay." Emily told him while they were walking down the stairs. God, she had said she would think about it…that was a beginning. Aaron smiled and began walking toward the door.

"Do you want some coffee?" She asked nervously.

"I would love some." Aaron said, because he didn't want to leave.

They both walked into the kitchen, and Aaron sat down on one of the stools while Emily made the coffee; it was odd for both because they didn't know what to say.

She sat, placing the cup of coffee in front of him, but she didn't sit next to him.

"Do you, um...want some pie? I made apple pie for the kids yesterday...the one you like." Emily said, stammering.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Aaron smiled shyly. Okay, this was bad, they were both acting like teenagers.

Emily served him the pie, but she still seemed very nervous and didn't seem to want to sit next to him. Okay, this is it…say something...do something...a voice inside his head said.

"Emily, I know we need to talk about what happened and what I did." Aaron started. Emily just nodded, but walked away going toward the sink, her back to him. Aaron just observed her, as she placed both of her hands on the sink to support herself, exhaling and trying to gather her thoughts because she didn't know where to begin. Aaron was about to say something to her when she turned around to face him; he sensed her urgency, and he could see the tears that were forming in her eyes. She finally spoke.

"I keep trying to understand...why you did what you did...and no matter how hard I try I just can't." She said, as the tears finally rolled from her eyes.

"I had to protect you, Emily, and the kids." He suggested, at first, but she shook her head angrily.

"I am, I was your wife, and we told each other...everything, even things that we were ashamed of." She said coldly.

"This wasn't the same, Em." Aaron said, standing up.

"It wasn't?" Emily asked, glaring at him.

"You didn't think I deserved to know that I was in danger, that our kids were in danger, that you were in danger?" Emily questioned angrily.

"Yes, you did, but I couldn't tell you." Aaron told her, trying to get her to calm down.

"You couldn't, or you wouldn't?" Emily asked, finally slightly raising her voice.

"No, I couldn't." He said, firmly.

"Why, because you wanted to be the damn hero?" She said, hurting.

"Don't give me that, Emily, that's not fair." Aaron said, hurt.

"No, you know what's not fair, the hell you put me and your kids through." Emily finally said, unable to stop the words. Aaron closed his eyes, this wasn't exactly how he had planned things to go.

"I'm so sorry, Emily." Aaron tried to apologize.

"Do you know how much it hurt me, the pain you caused me when you told me you cheated on me, the pain that you caused the children?" She screamed.

"No, I don't, but I can imagine it was close to the same kind of pain I felt when you went out with Morgan." Okay, that was a low blow, but they both needed to talk about this.

"I never did anything with Morgan, and you know it. I would never have done that to you, okay, so don't ever bring that up again." Emily cried, hurt.

"It still hurt me, Emily, I mean, even from David, my best friend." He finally screamed, as his own eyes filled with tears.

"They were just trying to support me and be there…that was all, Aaron, don't make this into something it's not." Emily said, as very offended, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It doesn't matter, Emily, IT HURT ME! Do you have any idea what it was like for me to watch the hatred in your eyes and in my kids' eyes?" Aaron said, unable to stop the tears. That got Emily to stop and listen to him.

"Do you have any idea how much it pained me to lose what I love the most in life?" Aaron screamed at her as tears rolled down his face.

"Then, why in the hell didn't you tell me why you were doing what you were doing; didn't you think I could have acted like our marriage was on the rocks, while you searched for Foyet, and that maybe our team could have helped you in searching for him, and you could have come home earlier, and we wouldn't be having this screaming match now and trying to put our marriage back together?!" Emily screamed.

"Because Foyet would have found out! He had been following you and the kids for months...goddammit, Emily, he had picture's of Alana's school recital!" Aaron said angrily.

"I couldn't risk it, I had to keep all of you safe! I would do it all again any day...I would give my life for you and my children, Emily." Aaron said, approaching her. She was aghast, listening to him.

"I kept you safe and my children safe, and that is all that matters. I had no other choice, sweetheart." He said finally, lowering his voice, however, Emily kept shaking her head, tears rolling down her cheeks; there was something else that bothered her…he could see it, this wasn't totally about him telling her he had cheated…there was something else.

"I don't regret what I did because I kept you safe, that's all you need to know." He said, looking at her intensely, but again, she shook her head trying to move away from him.

"No, Aaron, that doesn't change things, that doesn't fix things." Emily said angrily, and she walked away again. She wasn't able to hold this in any longer.

"Emily," He tried to grab her, but she pulled away.

"No...no...don't...okay...I mean, do you have any idea what could have happened if he had killed you...what could have happened to me and the kids?" She finally said, almost shaking, and he finally understood why she was so angry. She had been terrified to lose him. With all the courage he had, he approached and pulled her into his arms hugging her tightly to him…Emily finally broke down in his arms and started sobbing, clinging to him.

"He could have killed you, dammit!" Emily sobbed, as she completely broke down in his arms. Aaron held her tightly to him, as they both cried in each other's arms. There were so many emotions involved, but right now, all he could do was hold her and rub her back as she cried in his arms.

"Shhhhhhh, it's okay, baby, I'm fine, it's over." Aaron said soothingly.

"But, he could have killed you, Aaron, I would have died." Emily sobbed, holding even tighter to him.

"But, he didn't, sweetheart, and we have to be thankful for that, it's over, my love, everything is over." Aaron said to her as she cried heavily. They stood there crying in each other's arms for what seemed like forever. While the stormed passed by, they didn't care anymore, they just wanted to be in each other's arms. After almost an hour of heavy crying, Aaron finally pulled away and held her face in his hands.

"I need you to listen to me, and I need you to listen very carefully." He ordered gently.

"I don't regret what I did, even if it had meant my life, do you hear me? I would have given my life for you and my children." Emily just shook her head, crying some more.

"I'm sorry about all the pain I caused you, but I swear to you that I had no other choice." He said, looking at her beautiful eyes, her eyelashes damp with her tears.

"Foyet told me if I didn't take the deal he was going to kill you and my kids...I know he would have done it...I couldn't tell you the truth Em...I didn't want you involved in this at all."-He said as he gently whipping her tears with his thumb.

"I never cheated on you...I just have to make you believe that so I can find the time to find him and kill him..."-he explained looking intensely into her eyes.

"I will never in my life betray the most amazing and pure thing that has happen to me..."-He told her with his eyes full of tears, Emily sobbed as more tears rolled down her face.

"I had to do it Em...for you and my babies...I know you would have done the same thing." Emily nodded quietly, she definitely would have done the same thing, so she did understand.

"There is just something I need to know." Aaron asked quietly, looking into her eyes.

"What is it?" Emily asked with a shaky voice.

"Did you mean what you said at the hospital...when I was in a coma?" Aaron asked and Emily just stood there in shock.

"What?" She asked, aghast.

I heard everything you said, I couldn't open my eyes, but I could hear your voice, I could feel your hand holding mine, I could even feel your tears dampening my skin." Aaron confessed, emotion thickening his voice.

"So, did you meant it, do you still love me the way you said you did?" Now, he was looking into her soul. She didn't respond, but she didn't need to, he could see it in her eyes and her soul.

He leaned down gently capturing her mouth in a kiss, it was so sweet, so gentle, so perfect, their mouths joined, he thought Emily was going to pull away but she didn't, she surrendered to the kiss. He tasted her sweet lips, there was so much emotion put into that kiss, and soon, very soon, it turned passionate. Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist and he pulled her closer to him, pressing her to his chest. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and continued kissing him fiercely. Right now, nothing mattered anymore, only this moment, they stood there kissing for a while until his desire overtook him, he gently slid his hands under her sweater, touching her soft, warm skin…Emily whimpered in his mouth, and he didn't need any more encouragement. He picked her up in his arms, as she wrapped her legs around his waist, the walk to the bedroom was somewhat difficult since they had to stop a few times to continue their passionate kisses and to keep his balance.

He walked into the bedroom with Emily in his arm and he managed to close the door pressing Emily against it while he devoured her mouth, putting on the lock. Then he gently walked to the bed placing her softly on it, while she removed her own sweater, her eyes full of desire. He removed his shirt and tossed it on the floor, hovering over her gently, but Emily stopped, frozen, terrified at the scars on his chest. She had not seen them and she was in shock…her eyes filled with tears and Aaron noticed them immediately.

"Hey, hey, baby, keep your eyes on me, please." He said, leaning forward to kiss her lips gently.

'But, Aaron." Emily said astonished, with a shaky voice.

"Please, baby, please, don't stop now, just keep your eyes on me." He said kissing her neck gently.

He set himself on top of her, careful not to crush her, kissing her again, this time more passionately than the first time. Both of their bodies were burning with desire, and this was just what they both needed now. Okay, sex wasn't going to resolve everything but right now, he simply couldn't control himself, they both needed a way to let everything out and what a better way than making passionate, angry, mind blowing sex.

Emily's hand moved to his jeans undoing the zipper and the button while he assaulted her mouth. Neither of them had been intimate since before they had separated, so both of their hormones where running at an all-time high. Emily could feel his big erection through his jeans and underwear, and that made her even hotter, right now, she didn't want to think anymore, she just wanted to feel him, to have him, to reconnect with him. He pulled away smiling at her and removing her jeans gently as she helped him with his own jeans. He joined her again in bed as they both settled in between the covers.

He started kissing her mouth again softly this time, she truly wanted to enjoy every single second, while he continued trailing kisses along her jaw, down her neck and collar bone, through the valley of her breasts, he gently traced patterns on her soft legs and in between her thighs making Emily hotter and wetter than she had ever been. She reached inside his boxers cupping his erection and running her hand up and down his hard member. Aaron moaned and removed her hand gently, going back to her mouth and lifting her just enough to unhook her bra from behind. He tossed the garment on the floor, too, Emily tried to sit up, but he didn't let her, he held her hands behind her back, his mouth assaulting her breast, sucking at her nipples and biting them a little bit more roughly than he had intended to, causing the brunette to let out a moan that was half pain, half desire. But nothing really mattered right now, after all, this was about letting their anger out, and they were the masters at angry makeup sex.

Emily closed her eyes and arched her back as he devoured her breast, he was killing her, she was dying to have him inside her, but she knew he wasn't going to give in that easily. He let her hands go for a few minutes, just to give him enough time to rip off her underwear. Emily tried to go for his boxers to cup his erection again, but he held her hands again.

"Honey, please..." Emily begged, breathlessly." I want to touch you."

Aaron smiled widely and set her hands free, going back to her neck and gently kissing and nibbling at her warm flesh.

Her hands caressed his chest softly, carefully running her fingers through his scars, his hands traced slow paths down her sides, making her shiver. While Emily's hand moved to his erection again, this time pushing his boxers down to his ankles and playing with the pre cum of his member. As he carefully kept kissing down her body again, he moved his hand in between her legs touching her wet core gently and playing with her clit rubbing back and forth between her wet folds causing Emily to moan with pleasure and to begin rubbing against his hand. Emily continued to moan and her breaths began to become erratic; he kept kissing his way down her stomach until he was face to face with her bundle of nerves. When he reached that little bud, he began to lap his tongue between her juices as Emily arched her back again unable to control herself. Then he slowly inserted one of his fingers inside her, while he continued using his tongue to rub at her sensitive clit. He added a second finger as he increased the movements of his fingers, along with the movements of his mouth on her.

"Oh, Aaron, stop, I'm going to come." Emily rasped in a strangled moan. He, however, continued his movements until the brunette came screaming his name, after he lapped all her orgasm, he returned to her, kissing his way back up her beautiful body until he stopped, looking into her eyes, her skin flushed by the intense climax she had just had. He captured her mouth again, and Emily reciprocated the kiss, their mouths battling each other, Emily's hand moved to his member again, positioning him at her entrance. He slid inside her slowly, looking into her eyes so deeply it almost hurt.

Emily captured his mouth again as he started his movements inside her; at first, he started slow, but soon he picked up his pace, almost slamming into her, he kept his pace, her soaked walls welcoming him each time, while she moaned and softly called his name. Emily soon felt her walls contract again, and she came the second time, her eyes rolling up in her eyes. She was sure Aaron was going to continue his frantic thrusts, but all of a sudden he stopped, he slowed down completely and his pace became slow, and he cupped her jaw to make her look at him.

"I love you with all my heart and my soul." Aaron said, his eyes burning into hers, as he continued his slow shallow thrusts.

Emily smiled at him and captured his mouth sweetly kissing him with so much emotion and passion; she closed her eyes for a few seconds as they both melted together into that kiss that was uniting them again. When Emily opened her eyes again, he could see the tears in her beautiful eyes.

"No, no, no, no, baby, don't cry, please, I'm begging you." Aaron said, trying to not lose his concentration on the rhythm he has set inside her body.

"Shhhhhhhhh." Emily said, capturing his earlobe. "I'm here, honey, just keep making love to me, like that, oh Aaron." She moaned sensually into his ear.

Aaron smiled and continued his job inside her.

"I love you, too, I will for the rest of my life." Emily finally said, no, Aaron was the one that had tears in his eyes, but he closed his eyes putting his concentration in his wife.

Soon, they both shared an orgasm, more intense and more powerful than ever; Aaron collapsed on top of her unable to breathe or to think or do anything else. A while later, he pulled out of her and rested on his side, bringing her into his arms so she was looking at him…she settled in his arms and waited for their breaths to even out.

A few minutes later, her eyes fell back on the scars of his chest, and carefully, she ran her thumbs over each of the scars. Aaron watched her as her facial expressions changed, he felt her body tremble, although he couldn't see her eyes, he didn't need to.

"Hey, no more crying, baby, please." But, Emily wasn't able to stop herself from clinging to him crying again. Aaron just held her giving her time to collect herself, and when she did, he spoke to her again.

We need to be able to let all of this go, if we want this to work." He told her gently, bringing her face to look at him, Emily just nodded.

Aaron took a deep breath and finally took the courage to say it.

"I'm so sorry, baby, for all the pain I caused you, I'll do anything it takes to repair this...to fix us." Emily looked at him with sad, watery eyes.

"I'll do anything you want, baby, I'll leave the BAU, and we can move to another state if you want to do that, maybe buy a new house, get away from all of this. I'll do anything, Em, just say what it is that you want, and I'll do it. We can even go to therapy if you want." Emily finally smiled at him.

"We need to repair this together, okay, and we will, therapy is a good idea though." She said, kissing his lips gently.

"Yes it is, after what I put you and the kids through." He said, but she stopped him.

"Not for us, Aaron, for you. I think that you are the one that was affected the most." Emily said sweetly.

"We'll all take therapy as a family, tomorrow I'll go back to my house, and I'll find the best doctor." She cut him off again.

'You are home already, this is your house, tomorrow, we'll go get your things, and then we can both look for a doctor together." Aaron just pulled her to him, kissing her forehead gently and smiling widely.

They spent the rest of the night talking and making love several times, it was almost four in the morning when they fell sleep again, content in each other's arms. Aaron woke up the following morning, or actually a few hours later, around seven, and slowly sneaked out of the bed, careful not to wake Emily up, putting his jeans and shirt back.

He went to his daughter's room and woke her up, and after that, he got her ready for school and made her breakfast. He drove her to school and returned to the house…he was so happy Emily had given him a chance, and he wasn't going to mess anything up, he was going to spend the rest of his life making it up to her. When he got back in the house, he was going to make breakfast for her, and since neither of them had to be at work that day, he was going to spend the rest of the day with her.

He quickly went upstairs to check on her; he carefully walked into the room and watched the brunette sleep peacefully, her naked body half covered by the sheet. He knew it was kind of freaky, but he loved watching her sleep, it gave him so much peace, so much solace. He walked further into the room covering her with the duvet, knowing she got cold easily, he was about to walk out of the room to go make her breakfast when she woke up.

"What time is it?" She asked sleepily.

"Hey, its 8.15, go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you up." He said quietly…Emily, however, almost jumped.

"Oh my God, Lanny." Emily sat up immediately, covering herself quickly with the sheet which made Aaron smile; he watched in amusement, not only had they been together for more than seven years, but they had spent all night making love, yet her modesty amazed him.

"Shhhhhhhhhh, relax, I've already dropped Lanny off at school." He told her, walking back to the bed.

"You did, uh, okay." Emily said sleepily.

"Where are you going then?" She asked, feeling tiredness take over her body again.

"I was going to." He stopped, he didn't want to tell, it was supposed to be a surprise, he exhaled, they had promised the night before no more lies between them no matter what.

"I was going to go make you breakfast." Aaron confessed, defeated. Emily just shook her head.

"I don't want breakfast." She said in a whiney voice.

"Why not?" Aaron asked, laughing at the pout on her face…she looked exactly like Alana when she was pouting.

"I want to sleep some more, and I don't want to sleep alone." She said, as she lifted the cover so he could join her. Aaron smiled, undressing himself quickly again and joined her in bed.

"You know at some point I'm going to have to feed you." He pointed, pulling her into his arms.

"Shhhhhh, just hold me." Emily said, settling in his arms contently. Aaron smiled again, he held her to him and closed his eyes, she fell back to sleep within minutes. He, too. fell asleep holding the woman that he loved with his entire heart and soul.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N

Hello my wonderful friends this is just a quick update to let you know that one more chapter for this story and we will be done. Thank you so much for everyone that has taken the time to review the story and make your comments. I do appreciate all the support. As I mention before your review's mean a lot and love to take any suggestions as what will you like me to write about.

I do have one new story coming, which is already on the oven.

The next new big adventure is called "_Unforgettable Nights, Unforgivable mistakes" _this is a special story.

This story will be dedicated to a wonderful person who I came to meat almost a year ago and who has been incredibly amazing to me without even knowing me. Thanks to her and her help, the stories have been so much more enjoyable. This story is being completely dedicated to SouthunLady and is basically based on her suggestions. I will like to also thank her for all the wonderful help all this time and for making this stories so much more easier to read.

KUDOS TO HER


	25. Chapter 25

A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 24

**OK guys here we are with the final chapter of this story, thanks for your amazing reviews and support and especially thanks to **_**SouthunLady**_** who was invested so much of her beautiful time fixing this stories so they are easier for them to read. Thanks for reading and I hope you like our next story.**

**Fbiloveemandhotch and SouthunLady**

Final Chapter: One Big Happy Family

Time had flown and it was now two months since Emily and Aaron had gotten back together. Things were going pretty well for the couple, of course, it had taken a lot of talking and a lot of therapy, but it had been worth every single penny Aaron had invested. In fact, he had realized therapy had been one of the best investments he had ever made in his life. Not everything was always pink and beautiful...they had their black days, too, but that was just how therapy worked. They had found themselves talking, sharing and discussing their feelings, and there were times when they came home happy, kissing each other and making out. But, there were those other times they came home sad, crying and with unresolved feelings, and then there were also those times when they ended up screaming at each other in front of their therapist. They would go home very angry at each other, but at the end of each night, they always ended up talking and finding their way back to each other. They still probably had a lot to work on, but the one thing they had realized was that they loved each other completely, and that they were both willing to do whatever it took to get where they needed to be. The kids had also ended up going to therapy, and it had also been great for them. Lanny was, of course, the easiest one to adapt, she understood mommy and daddy loved each other and they had taken some time apart, but now they were back together, and that was all that mattered for her, and Emily and Aaron did not want their four year old learning many details about their separation so they were okay with that. Jack had taken more time to adjust...he was older, and he was more deeply hurt by the entire situation. While Aaron didn't want Jack to know many details either, he did explain to Jack that a bad guy had tried to hurt his family, and he had to go away to get him, and Jack had understood that well enough. The entire family was doing well...the kids were doing so much better, and they were both very happy to have their entire family together again.

Emily and Aaron were happy again, and while there were still some issues, those issues were minor, but again, what marriage didn't have issues. Their relationship was getting stronger each day, and so were their communication skills; they found it easier to talk with each other daily, and their therapist was sure their marriage would be back to normal very soon. Their sex life had also improved, it was already great before their separation, now it was phenomenal; they found themselves making out every chance they got...it was cute, and Aaron was sure they were acting like hormonal teenagers that had just met. But, it felt awesome, he wasn't sure what had happened, but his desire for his wife was growing each passing day, and Emily was just fine with that, too. In fact, they were enjoying things so much that they had gotten a little too loud, and they had ended up embarrassed by their four year old knocking on the door at two in the morning, asking why mommy was crying. Aaron was red as a beet and had taken Alana back to bed explaining to her that mommy just had a tummy ache, and she would be perfectly fine the next day. After the embarrassment and the little girl was tucked in bed again, they ended up falling asleep in each other's arms again. Little by little, they were rebuilding their marriage.

Aaron wanted to fix things with his family first before he could fix the icy front that was still going on with the team. Now that he and Emily were in very good condition again, he wanted to move forward to that step, and he had a big plan in mind. Alana was turning five, and he wanted to have a nice birthday party for their daughter, and he thought it was just a great opportunity to reunite the team. The party would be at their house, and they had a very big backyard that would work perfectly for his idea. With Rossi's help, he had planned a nice party and a way to get all the team together again. There was only an icy front between him and Morgan and between Emily and Penelope, but he knew it was affecting the rest of the team. Emily thought that the party was a great idea. She knew her daughter would be overjoyed, and the team could definitely use a get together. As part of their therapy program, they had learned that forgiveness was a great step towards healing and recovery, and they were both willing to forgive and forget, so they could move forward, and that also included those who had hurt them indirectly, too.

The day was set, the party would be held at the Hotchner household that coming Saturday, and everyone on the team was invited. Of course, it was a little girl's party and most of her school friends along with some of their parents would be there, but they were also planning a barbeque and other activities that would keep everyone together as a big family. The party was going to be Frozen's theme, and Emily had hired a woman that would dress as Elsa, as well as some clowns and jumping jacks for the kids. Aaron believed that he and the boys would be in charge of the barbecue...it was easy and a great idea just to make hamburgers, hotdogs and kabobs. The kids would love it, and so would the adults, and that way they would not have a lot of work to do, and they all would enjoy the party and help with the food giving everyone a chance to talk and hang out.

It had been a while since the entire team as a family hung out together, and a lot of it had to do with the Foyet situation, and of course, with one thing and another, they had not really had a chance to talk. Emily and JJ were okay...they were still very good friends and even though they had not hung out a lot lately, they still loved each other very much and their friendship was just as strong as it ever was. JJ, however, did feel caught between a rock and a hard place. She was on good terms with Penelope, and it pained her that Emily and Penelope were still not talking, she had not intervened and gotten in the middle of things because Emily had asked her not to, and she respected that. JJ knew that this was something Emily and Penelope needed to resolve alone. Emily on her side, wasn't mad at Penelope anymore, maybe hurt, but not mad, she knew Penelope had acted out of a crazy moment, and she truly had not meant what she said to her. However, Emily wanted Penelope to be the one coming to her and not the other way around. Maybe a little childish, but she truly felt that that it was Penelope that needed to apologize, and although she had tried once, Emily wasn't at her best when she had tried. Hopefully, the party would give them an opportunity to talk and repair their friendship.

With the boys, it would take longer. Aaron was very proud, and he was still hurt by the fact that Derek had tried to pursue his wife, affair or no affair, he truly felt betrayed by him, and it was making it much harder to get over what Morgan had done. Emily had talked to Aaron about the situation many times, in therapy and outside of therapy, because that had been one of the sorest points on fixing their marriage. Emily had told Aaron endless times that nothing had ever happened between Derek and her, and that she would never betray him either, and it was frustrating yes, and the majority of times they did end up fighting during their therapy sessions was because of the Morgan thing. Emily knew he was hurt, and she was trying to be as patient and understanding as she could be. Aaron knew Emily had not done anything, he knew what he had at home, he trusted her and he had faith in her, still his male ego was slightly hurt. Emily told Aaron she wanted everyone at the party, including Derek, and he agreed to that. They did need to talk, and he also knew that he had to let this go because it was part of the healing process of the therapy. He had promised Emily they would move on, and that he would give Derek a chance, and he was planning to keep his promise. Hopefully, the party would also be a good opportunity for him and Derek to talk.

The day before the party, Emily had planned on leaving the BAU a little earlier than usual. The team wasn't on a case, so Hotch had okayed her early leave. She still had to pick up a few things for the party, and she wanted to get Alana a birthday present, so she cleared her desk and picked up her purse and her coffee mug to rinse it out real quick in the break room, and then she could leave. She walked in the little break room and quickly rinsed her mug, placed on the mat so it would dry overnight, and was about to walk out when a pair of heels walked in.

"Sorry." Emily said, apologized for being there...although, she wasn't sure why she was apologizing, the other woman freezing and looking at her without knowing what to say.

"Excuse me." Emily said, moving out of the way so she could leave the break room, and she was about to walk out of the room when she was stopped.

"Wait don't leave." The blonde said, Emily just turned on her heels and turned to look at her.

"I know you hate me, and you should because I'm a horrible person, and I deserve the worst, but I would like to think that some crazy, possessed spirit took over me and made me say all those horrible things I said to you, and I had no right." She was speaking so fast Emily could hardly keep up.

"Penelope." Emily tried to stop her,

"I don't know what happened with me because you are my friend and friends should be here for each other and not do horrible crazy things to each other like I did with you, and I should be sent to jail for doing this to you when you needed me the most, and I wasn't and I should be punished." God woman, take a breath.

"Penelope."

"No, worse, I should be sent to a death penalty because only a sick mind would do that to a friend, what I did to you. God, I should be compared to an unsub now, or a monster. I'm a horrible individual, and I just know that you are my friend, the best one I ever had, and I lost you now like I lost my parents." Now, tears were rolling down her face. Emily knew she had to do something, or the analyst was going to have a heart attack.

"Penelope, stop, please stop." She said a little firmly. The blonde stopped, looking at Emily with her eyes full of tears.

"First of all, I don't hate you, I could never hate you." Emily said kindly. Penelope just nodded, as tears rolled down her face.

"Second, you're not a horrible person, or a monster...and don't EVER compare yourself with an unsub." Emily said firmly.

"What you did wasn't a horrible thing, it wasn't the right thing maybe, but that doesn't make you a monster. I've also been in love before, so I get it." Emily smiled shyly.

"Third, you didn't lose ME like you lost your parents." Emily said, wiping the blondes tears.

"I am so sorry, Emily." The blonde cried, and Emily just pulled her in for a hug.

"It's okay, how about we move past this and forget any of these things ever happened." Emily suggested.

"Oh, please, because I really miss my friend...and my little pumpkin." Penelope said, wiping her eyes.

"She misses you, too. I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow?" Emily asked.

"Tomorrow?" Penelope questioned.

"Alana's party, I'm pretty sure I left the invitation on your desk." Emily said laughing.

"Oh, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to come." Penelope said shyly.

"You're kidding, right? Who else is going to make the cupcakes?" Emily teased.

"Right...right. I'll be there first thing in the morning. No, wait, I'll be there as soon as the sun is up. I can even be there at five, you know, just in case anything comes up." The blonde said ecstatic.

"Bye, Penelope." Emily said, rolling her eyes and walking away.

Emily got to her car with a big smile, things were working fine, she and Penelope had made up and hopefully the party would work to reunite Derek and Aaron, too, her marriage was on excellent footing again, and she couldn't ask for more. She drove to the store and picked up everything that she was missing for the party. Then she went to the toy store and got Alana a Frozen castle that was her size, big enough for her to play in. They decided they would put that in the yard, and she could play there, sort of like a playground, it was very beautiful and it contained several other small toys to play with that were Frozen themed. It was somewhat pricey, but Alana would love it and it was their baby girl's birthday. She paid for the house, but asked for it to be delivered at their house the next day since it was too big to fit in her car, plus she didn't want Alana to see it until tomorrow.

After the toy store, Emily went to pick up Alana and Jack from school, then home. She had the kids by herself all night. Aaron was supposed to meet with the bureau that day about his actions and the Foyet situation. He had returned to work a few weeks ago, but things had been crazy busy and they still had not had an opportunity to talk with him. But Emily wasn't really worried, she knew he was a great leader, and his work had always been the best; he had acted in a way to protect his family and Emily would always support him. After the kids ate dinner and finished their homework, she put them to bed and went into the kitchen to clean up a little and finish a few things for the party and wait for Aaron.

About a half hour later, he came home, opening the door and placing his briefcase in the usual place. Aaron walked into the kitchen and spotted Emily sitting on a stool drinking hot tea and finishing Alana's birthday favors bags for their friends. She smiled widely as he stepped in, hugging the brunette from behind.

"Hey, beautiful." He said, kissing her neck. Emily immediately stopped what she was doing and stood up, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey, how did it go?" She asked, concerned.

"Long, and boring." Aaron said, kissing her lips gently, Emily smiled.

"And?" Emily asked, arching her eyebrows.

"Well, it looks like you'll still have to put up with me at work for a while." He finally said, showing his dimples. Emily smiled...that was very good news.

"Oh, honey, I'm so glad." Their lips joined again on a kiss.

"Strauss isn't tough, you should have seen her face." Aaron said, remembering the face Strauss had made when the Director informed him there would not be any serious consequences to his actions, and he still would be the Unit Chief.

"Oh, I'm sure she was thrilled." Emily said, laughing.

"I love you." Aaron simply said, kissing her again, happy that this mess was finally over.

"I love you more, mister, now, let me warm your dinner." Emily suggested, attempting to move from his embrace.

"I don't want to eat, baby." Aaron told her, holding her in his arms. "Please?" He added, when she gave him a scolding look.

"I'm not hungry, for food, anyway." He added huskily." I am, however, hungry for something else." Winking at her and kissing her neck. Emily just burst into laughter letting him kiss her passionately.

"Honey,...I...have...to...finish...the...favors..." She said, in between kisses. Aaron, however, ignored her statement, picking her up in his arms and taking her upstairs. The couple spent the night making love, and they fell asleep late at night. Emily knew that the next day will be a very long one, and they needed to rest.

The following morning, Emily woke up and realized her husband wasn't in bed with her, she sat up in the bed covering her naked frame when Aaron walked in the room, smiling at her and carrying a small silver tray with pancakes, eggs and steaming coffee. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said, walking in the room and placing the tray on the nightstand.

"Hey, why didn't you wake me up?" She asked, realizing it was almost nine, and they had a lot to do for the party.

"I wanted you to sleep some, mom is already downstairs working on the food, and Dave is outside setting up the patio." He smiled sitting down on the bed kissing her, Emily smiled and deepened the kiss

"Honey, I should be doing that, let me take a quick shower and..." But, Aaron stopped her.

"Sweetheart, I called them because I wanted you to stay in bed late. Eat your breakfast calmly, and then you can take a shower, relax, we've got this covered." He kissed her cheek. Emily smiled again, realizing how truly amazing the man she married was.

"But..."

"No buts, okay, come on, breakfast is getting cold." He said, kissing her forehead and walking out of the room. Emily smiled…settling on the bed and pulling the tray to her lap, picking up the remote and turning on the TV, maybe it wasn't a bad idea to get pampered a little.

About two hours later, Emily came downstairs; she had showered and gotten ready. Now, she was wearing a very nice navy and white polka dot sundress and sandals when she walked into the kitchen to find Alana helping grandma with the appetizers.

"Hey, Everyone, good morning." She said happily. Alana immediately jumped down from the stool and ran into her mother's arms. Alana was still in her pajamas, since they didn't want her to get dressed for the party so she wouldn't get dirty. Emily smiled widely as she picked up her daughter.

"Happy birthday my little monkey." Emily said.

"I'm big, mommy." Lanny cried happily.

"Oh no, love, you will always be my little baby, no matter how old you are." Emily said, realizing it was five years ago that day, she was at the hospital lying in bed with the beautiful pink infant in her arms. She really wished she could stop time and keep her baby girl at that age forever.

"Mommy, I want to open my presents." Lanny pointed at the few gifts that had been set on the table.

"You have to wait until the party starts honey." Lanny pouted, which made Emily smile, kissing her pout.

"Come on, we have to start the cupcakes, you said you would help me." That got Lanny's attention away from the presents. Emily placed her down on the floor, walking towards Helen.

"Good morning, Helen." She said, hugging her mother-in-law.

"How are you, sweetie?" Emily looked around to see that Helen had already worked on most of the appetizers, but they still had so much to do.

"Where are Aaron and Jack?" Emily questioned.

"Jack is outside with Dave." Emily looked through the window where Jack and Dave were happily decorating the house.

"Aaron had to run some errands." Helen told Emily, smiling. Emily hummed, she had no idea what errands he needed to do. He didn't tell her anything about any errands so that seemed a little strange. But, she trusted him so she just decided to focus on the party, and help Helen with whatever was left. A few minutes later, Penelope arrived and just as Emily had feared, she came bearing many gifts for Alana among other things.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but I found a bunch of things at the store we could use for the party, oh and I found cookies in the shape of a snow flake which will go great with the theme, and I also got the cutest chocolates..." Penelope said happily, setting her shopping bags on the front table. Emily wanted to say something, but she knew the technical analyst was just trying to make up and she didn't want to make her feel bad, so she just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Penny…" Alana ran to her as soon as she saw the blonde woman.

"Oh my little sweet pumpkin, I missed you so much." Penelope exclaimed, carrying the four year old.

"Look, Penny, we're making cupcakes, do you want to help?" Lanny asked happily.

"Absolutely, and I've got cookies, too, that we're going to make, and chocolates." Penelope said, excited and getting the boxes out of the bag and showing Alana. Emily watched as her daughter was beyond happy helping Penelope with the sweets. Helen smiled, too, and they both decided to let them work, and she and Emily would start focusing on the major food.

Meanwhile, Aaron was parked outside in the driveway of the profiler's house; he had been there for a while, and he knew he had to get out of the car and knock on the door. It was harder than he thought it would be, but he had to do it…for Emily, he had to do it. He finally got out of the car and walked to the door, ringing the doorbell. A few minutes later the younger male came to the door, and he was in shock to see who was at the door. He was wearing shorts, and he looked to be having a relaxing day at home.

"Hotch, what are you doing here!" He asked astonished.

"I should be asking you that, shouldn't you be heading to my house for my daughter's birthday party?" Hotch asked sternly.

"I didn't want to disturb you and Emily." Morgan said honestly.

"It's Alana's party. I'd like to think she wants her Godfather there." Aaron said, looking at him.

"May I come in?" He asked, when Morgan didn't respond.

"Sure." Morgan said, moving out of the way and letting Hotch in.

Morgan closed the door and lead Aaron to the living room.

"What are you doing here, Hotch?" Morgan asked again.

"I've already told you, Lanny would like to see you at the party." Aaron said again.

"I don't think I should be there, after everything that happened, I just feel bad...I've even thought about leaving the team." Derek confessed.

"I know." Aaron replied, looking at him.

"How do you know?" Morgan asked in shock, nobody knew that he had been considering a transfer to New York.

"Derek, I know things that would surprise you."

"So, that's why you came isn't it?" Derek questioned.

"Maybe?" Aaron said, looking away.

"Look Derek, Emily and I are trying to move on, to forget any of these things ever happened. We want the same for everyone else around us for our family."

"I can't move on, not after what I did to you. I betrayed you, Hotch. I'll admit I went after the woman you love more than anything; first to support her because what you did to her was killing her, and she was struggling so hard to put up a front, but I was also hoping that eventually it would turn into something more. I guess I've had feelings for Emily since she started here, but I've always seen something in her eyes every time she was around you, and I never thought I had a chance until now." Morgan said, closing his eyes.

"Derek, while I'm still hurt about what you tried to do with Emily, I do appreciate tremendously that you were there for her, and my daughter." Aaron said, looking at him.

"I don't expect things to be great again between us right away, but I would like to think that we can move past the things that happened, and what you and I did, and not let the memory of Foyet destroy our lives or our family." Aaron stated.

"Why did you do it, Hotch?" Morgan finally questioned.

"I had to protect my family." Hotch explained again.

"I get that, Hotch. I understand you had to protect your family, I would have done that. I meant the affair idea. If you had never caught Foyet, and you never told anyone what you were doing, you would or could have lost Emily and your children forever. I don't think I would have been able to do something like that if I was in your place. Yeah, you might have kept them safe, but if you could have seen what Emily and your children went through, would it have been worth it? Wouldn't it have been better to tell Emily, a trained profiler, what was going on, and let her and us help you, instead of nearly breaking her spirit and having her decide to come after Foyet on her own and possibly get killed because she couldn't live without you any longer." Morgan said laying the cards out on the table.

"Derek, when you love someone the way I love Emily and my kids, you are willing to do anything for them, even if it means sacrificing your own happiness and life."

"But, what if it breaks your family in the meantime, and they wind up unhappy and miserable because of your decision?" Morgan asked.

Hotch and Morgan both knew there were more things needed to be said, but they had at least cleared the air, and Morgan knew he was wanted at Lanny's birthday party.

"So, shall we go to the party?" Hotch asked.

Morgan looked at him for a few minutes…he wasn't sure.

"Lanny and Emily want you there, and so do I." Aaron told him.

"And I really need your help with something." Aaron said, finally smiling.

"Anything, man." Morgan said, firmly. Aaron explained what his plan was.

"Oh, I see, and Emily is okay with this?" Morgan questioned.

"Well, not exactly, but I can take care of that." Aaron stated, knowing that plan he had wasn't exactly something Emily had approved, but he was sure he could convince her.

"Okay, man, but I'm telling you, this is all your idea. I so don't want to get on your wife's bad side." Morgan pointed out.

"All right, deal." Aaron smiled, as he watched Morgan going upstairs to go change.

They returned to the party a little while later, and everyone else on the team had already arrived. Jack and Dave had done a great job with the decorations, and the whole back yard was decorated in Frozen's theme. Emily and JJ had set up all the big tables for the appetizers and drinks, and one for desserts and the cake JJ had gotten for Alana. They also had set up another table with the presents for Alana which was already full just with the presents the team had gotten for her. The Frozen Castle playhouse Emily had gotten had arrived, too, and that was next to the table of gifts wrapped with a huge ribbon. Lanny was ecstatic…almost everything for her party was ready. Emily was very happy to see Aaron had returned with Derek, but he was carrying a small white cage with a pink ribbon on it. He had wanted to wait until after they cut the cake to give their daughter her present, but given the situation of the present, he had to do it now before the party started. Most of her friends where already there and so was the whole team, so it would be a great time to give Lanny her present.

"What is that?" Emily asked, pointing at the cage. Although, she was very sure she knew what it was, before Aaron could answer her, Lanny came running to them, dressed in a beautiful blue dress just like Elsa the princess.

"Daddy, you're back!" Lanny cried happily, as Aaron knelt on the ground to hug his daughter.

I am and I know I said you couldn't open your presents yet, but this is a special present so I am willing to make an exception." He said as he watched his daughter's face light up. He placed the cage on the ground and opened the little door.

A beautiful white, fluffy puppy came bounding out of the cage wearing a pink ribbon. "A puppy!" Alana screamed happily. Aaron had never seen her little face light up so much, her little face was priceless, and although he knew his wife was going to kill him, he could deal with that, watching his daughter so happy would be worth anything.

"Oh, Daddy, you got him for me. My puppy." Lanny was clinging onto him so hard she almost knocked him to the ground. Emily watched them with a big grin on her face, and as mad as she wanted to be at Aaron for getting her the dog behind her back when she had said it might not be a good idea, her daughter's face was priceless and she could not be upset with that.

"Mommy look, my puppy." Lanny jumped into her mother's arms, too. Emily truly had never seen her daughter so happy about anything in her life, and that was all that mattered to her.

The puppy came to Alana and started licking her and playing with her, while the little girl burst into laughter. Everyone else was watching with big smiles, even Helen. Aaron stood up from the ground to look at his wife, who he was sure was furious with him and knew he needed to give her an explanation.

"Baby, please, before you say anything, let me say something. This was all she wanted… she didn't even want the party. She had never asked for something with such enthusiasm, and I'll help her take care of it, and clean up after the puppy, please don't be mad." He begged.

"You and I will talk later, we have guests now." She said severely, although Aaron could tell that her tone had been severe but the look in her eyes was soft and loving, and she was smiling widely when she saw her daughters face. He turned around to his daughter again.

"We need to think of a good name for your puppy, honey." Hotch said, smiling at her, and then at Emily, who just shook her head angrily at him. He once again got on the ground to his daughter's height.

"I know…Jingles!" Lanny cried happily, that even made Emily laugh along with everyone else, too.

"Jingles?" Aaron questioned, arching his eyebrows.

"Yes, Jingles, I love that name...please?" Lanny begged.

"Jingles it is, then. Let me tell you a little about your new puppy, Jingles. Jingles is a Peke-a-Poo which is a doggie that is part pekingnese and poodle, and that's why he's so fluffy, and they like to be brushed and go to the doggie beauty salon and get a bath and doggie bows in his hair. He won't grow much bigger than he is now, so he'll stay little for you. And the best part about him is you're going to adopt him because he's what's known as a rescue doggie. Someone couldn't take care of him anymore, so they gave him away, and you're going to adopt him for your very own. So, you see, Jingles is a very special little doggie, and you and Jack will have to take very good care of him and make him feel extra loved all the time."

Lanny picked the puppy up in her arms happily, and she ran off to show her new puppy to her friends. Aaron stood up and watched as Emily walked away shaking her head angrily at him, but he wasn't worried…he knew Emily too well, she wasn't mad, well she was, but she wasn't as mad as he thought she would be, and he knew that after she had watched Lanny being so happy, she would give in. For now, he would just focus on getting the party started and help the guys with the barbecue.

The party was a great success. Alana was more than happy, and so was Jack while they played with Jingles. The entire team was there, and even Kate Joyner and Clyde Easter had shown up. This had given Emily the opportunity to apologize to Kate and to thank her for being there for Aaron when he had needed her help, even though Aaron had gone behind Emily's back to try and find Foyet by himself. With Clyde there, Aaron got a chance to thank him for coming to help Emily keep calm and to help her finding details about where Foyet was so Emily wouldn't start out on her own looking for him, because Aaron knew she would, and he knew Clyde would take care of Emily.

Everyone was very happy and enjoying the party, Haley, too, had come to the party and surprisingly, Erick had also flown back with Clyde and wanted to see Haley; apparently, they had gotten along very well, and he seem to be attracted to Haley, something Clyde found funny, but Erick was his friend, and he wanted him to be happy. The family was happy, and they were all having an amazing time. The kids were now playing with the puppy and having fun at the party, and nothing could be going any better. Emily was with the girls drinking beer and talking to them…they were laughing and watching all the kids that were now running around in the backyard. Aaron watched Emily from far away, she look absolutely beautiful in that dress, in fact, she looked more beautiful with each passing day; he had been so lucky to marry such a gorgeous and amazing woman. He approached the woman and stepped in front of them quietly.

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies, may I talk with you for a second, please?" He said, looking at Emily intensely. Emily just looked at him giving him a cold look, but she wasn't going to make him look bad in front of the girls.

"Sure." She followed Aaron inside the house and then to his office…she knew exactly what he wanted.

"What?" She asked, a little coldly, but he could see the spark on her eyes.

"You look absolutely beautiful today." Aaron said, smiling widely. Emily rolled her eyes and looked away, but he knew exactly how to make her happy again. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her firmly to him…Emily was going to protest, but he silenced her capturing her mouth in a long, passionate kiss.

"Not fair." She said, when they pulled away from each other, looking at him with a frown on her face.

"I love you, beautiful." He said, holding her in his arms.

"That isn't going to get you out of trouble." She warned.

"Come on, baby, I know you're mad, but this was the only thing she wanted, Em, she has been asking me for a puppy almost every day...I just want to make her happy, and she's had a tough time these past few months." He told his wife.

"I know that, Aaron, I want the same thing, but we talked about this, she might not be ready." Emily said, looking at him…he still held her in his arms, and she hadn't moved away from him, even if she was upset with him.

"Emily, come on, Lanny is the most neat and responsible kid I know, her and Jack, I'll show her how to take her of the puppy and be responsible with him. I'll even take care of the puppy myself until she really knows how, please, Em, let me do this for her. I've already failed her once, don't make me fail her again." He begged his wife. Emily just looked at him without knowing what to say. She knew Aaron was trying much too hard to win the forgiveness of his family again. He leaned down again capturing her mouth and kissing her more passionately and intensely than before, and Emily surrendered to his kiss, and for a minute, they both forgot about the puppy situation. They were so into each other they almost didn't hear the knock until someone knocked louder at the door making them pull away.

David opened the door smiling widely at the blushing couple.

"Hey, I know you two are in the middle of a honeymoon again and spend every second making out, but we need you out here to cut the cake." Dave teased, winking at them playfully.

"We'll talk later." Emily said, smiling a little, blushing and following after Dave who was laughing at their faces. Aaron, too, smiled and followed after them.

The rest of the party was great, too; Alana had never been so happy in her life…her friends had a blast, and she had gotten so many presents she could open a toy store. The day was still very nice outside, and they spent the rest of the day playing with the kids and with all the other activities Emily had organized, everyone truly had an amazing time…even the boys spent time playing cards and laughing. Everything had gone exactly the way Emily and Aaron had wanted it to go.

A little while later, everyone began leaving and heading home…the girls stayed to help Emily with the cleaning and putting things away. It didn't take much since Helen also helped with the cleaning and putting all the presents Alana had gotten away. Once everything was cleared away, Helen told Emily to go back outside to check on the kids and Aaron, since they were still outside playing with the puppy. Emily grabbed a beer from the cooler and walked toward the back yard. Aaron was sitting in a chair drinking a beer and watching as his kids played with the puppy and chased each other around. Emily stopped next to him smiling widely as she watched Lanny and Jack play around.

"Hey there." She said, handing the beer to Aaron. He smiled and took the beer from her hand pulling the brunette into his lap. She settled down on his lap, and they kissed a few times, then she turned around to see the kids.

"I've never seen her so happy before, it was definitely the best present she got." She said, with her eyes on her daughter.

"Wait, does that mean...the puppy can stay?" Aaron asked, smiling at his wife.

"Well, she already gave him a name, and I couldn't stand her face if we took him away." She turned again to look at Aaron, who just smiled, pulling her closer and kissing her more passionately than before.

"Thank you, baby, thank you so much."

"You'll make sure she takes care of that dog, and you and she'll be cleaning up after the dog...do you hear me?" Emily ordered.

"Yes, ma'am, anything you say.

Emily settled in his lap and rested her head on his chest, her eyes on their kids; it truly had been an amazing party, and she was happy that her family was happy again and the nightmare was over. Everything was fine now, and even things between Morgan and her husband, the little things that were missing could be taken care of with time and patience, for now, she couldn't ask for more. She watched as Lanny fell on the ground, and she was going to stand up, but Jack quickly checked on her and she was fine. Jack helped Lanny to get up again, and that made Emily smile, she looked at Aaron who was smiling widely, too, and she was sure he was thinking the same thing she was.

"We have amazing kids, don't we?" Emily asked.

"Yes, we certainly do, we have done a great job with them." He pulled his wife even closer to him.

"What do you say, shall we do it again?" He asked with a big smile…that got Emily to lift her head and look at him in shock.

"What?"

"Kids, do you think we're ready for another one?" His dimples showing deeply.

"Are you serious?" Emily asked, incredulously.

"Of course, I'm serious, we're both getting older, if we're going to do this again, we should do it soon."

"We just got a puppy, Aaron." Emily said, looking at him seriously.

"That's not the same thing, baby."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's very close, a puppy needs almost the same attention a baby does." Emily laughed.

"Maybe, but with a puppy, I don't get the fun of making it." He said, winking at his wife, she slapped his chest playfully.

"I'm serious, Aaron."

'Well, so am I Emily, I want another kid. Lanny is old enough now." Emily turned to look at her daughter.

"Don't you want another little girl, with your beautiful face and hair, or a little boy who looks exactly like you?" Emily smiled, she did wanted another kid. She turned around to look at her husband.

"I do." She confessed, looking at him.

"Then, let's do it now, before we get older." Emily looked at him…he was serious about this, he wanted another baby, and truly, she did too.

"Come on, baby, what do you say?" Aaron asked.

"Okay." That was all she was able to say.

"Okay, we'll start tonight." That got Emily to burst into laughter again…Aaron pulled her in again for a kiss.

"Good, that's been settled. Now, I have to take care of something else." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Emily's eyes widened.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Well, with the whole Foyet thing, I know our marriage got a little affected with the divorce and all that, and I want everything to be right again. I never thought I would be doing this again, but..." He opened the box to reveal a four carat princess cut engagement ring.

"Emily, will you marry me…again?" He asked, smiling at her.

She smiled at him, and looked at the beautiful ring in the box.

"Well, I would love to but there is a little situation..." She said, a little nervous. The smile on his face was replaced by a very concerned one.

"What's wrong!?" Did she not wanted to marry him again?

"Well, um...when this entire thing was going on, and you gave me the papers back signed, I wasn't really at my best, so…I decided to put them away, until I could think with a clearer head." Aaron was looking at her, still very concerned.

"And well, I kind of just forgot about them." What was she saying?

"Technically, we're still married!" She said, smiling shyly at him.

"You never filed for the divorce?" Aaron asked astonished, she just shook her head. He pulled her for another kiss.

"Oh my God, Em, you have no idea how happy you just made me!" She smiled at him.

"The ring is beautiful though, I'll give you that." She said innocently, looking at the ring that was bigger than her first engagement ring.

"Well, how about we do this, take this ring as a promise to make our marriage stronger than before, as a promise that we will always be there for each other, we'll renew our vows." He said, placing the ring on her finger.

"I like that a lot." She smiled and this time it was her who captured his mouth in a kiss.

"I love you, Aaron, always and forever." She said, leaning her forehead on his.

"I love you, too, baby, more than anything in this world." He pulled her in his arms again, and they contently settled into watching their kids play.

They both knew that their marriage would be so much better and stronger than before. They had each other to lean on to overcome anything that might fall in their life's pathway, and most importantly, their love for each other had grown through the fires of adversity and been honed to the strength of steel.

THE END


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